Alex Batty, the British teenager who has been missing for six years, will return to the UK on Saturday afternoon.
The 17-year-old is expected to be reunited with his grandmother, Susan Caruana, his legal guardian, who has not seen her grandson since he disappeared in 2017.
He is believed to have been abducted by his 43-year-old mother to live an “alternative” lifestyle abroad after a family holiday to Spain in September that year.
Batty, from Oldham in Greater Manchester, would fly to London from the French city of Toulouse, “accompanied by several British police officers”, the assistant public prosecutor in Toulouse, Antoine Leroy, said on Saturday.
The teenager was found in a remote corner of south-west France early on Wednesday. He told police he had been living in “spiritual communities” in Spain, Morocco and France since he was taken from his grandmother.
Leroy said Batty had been living a “nomadic lifestyle” with his mother and grandfather in “spiritual communities” in Spain, Morocco and France.
Batty said he realised “this has to stop” when his mother announced her intention to move to Finland with him, according to Leroy. It is not clear whether he had told his mother of his plans to leave.
Caruana, his maternal grandmother, said on Friday she was “over the moon” that he would be coming home. “It’s amazing. It’s an incredible story. It’s unbelievable after all these years. I’m in shock, I can’t believe it. I have spoken to him and he’s well.”
Batty’s grandfather is believed to have died about six months ago. His mother, Melanie Batty, was yet to be found and may be in Finland, Leroy said.
