What happened to Alex Batty, the British boy found in France after vanishing in 2017 aged 11?
By Rachael Bunyan[1] and James Callery[2]
Published: 18:12, 15 December 2023 | Updated: 18:43, 15 December 2023
A British boy who was allegedly kidnapped by his mother six years ago was found by a medical student in the mountains in southern France[3] where he'd been wandering for four days having fled a 'spiritual commune'.
Alex Batty[4], from Oldham, Greater Manchester, was just 11 when he did not return from a holiday to Spain[5] with his mother Melanie, then 37, and grandfather David, then 58, in 2017.
But in the early hours of the morning on December 13, Alex was found by medical student Fabien Accidini following his escape from the 'spiritual commune' in the mountainous region of Ariege in the foothills of the French Pyrenees.
Toulouse deputy prosecutor Antoine Leroy said in a press conference on December 15 that UK authorities are buying Alex a ticket and will arrange for travel from Bordeaux. They said he will leave on December 16 or at the very latest the day after.
But there are a number of unanswered questions - most notably the whereabouts of Melanie and David.
As more details begin to emerge, MailOnline takes a look at what happened to Alex Batty after he vanished in 2017.
Alex Batty, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, was just 11 when he did not return from a holiday to Spain with his mother Melanie, then 37, and grandfather David, then 58, in 2017
Alex was allegedly kidnapped by his mother six years ago was found this week by a medical student in the mountains in southern France where he'd been wandering for four days having fled a 'spiritual commune'
When did Alex go missing and what happened?
Alex flew into Malaga airport in Spain on a pre-agreed trip with his mother Melanie - who does not have legal parental guardianship - and grandfather David for a week-long stay in the Benahavis area, near Marbella on September 30, 2017.
But Alex, his mother and grandfather did not come back home as expected on October 8, 2017, sparking a massive police enquiry into the boy's apparent abduction.
Alex's heartbroken grandmother Susan Caruana, who is Alex's legal guardian, said in 2018 that Melanie and David had previously lived on a commune in Morocco with Alex in 2014 as part of an 'alternative lifestyle'.
Greater Manchester Police led extensive inquiries to try to find Alex following his suspected abduction.
Alex's cousin Stephen Devine said: 'Alex's mum was involved in a cult. His grandma became his guardian but then his mum Melissa and grandfather offered to take him on holiday for a week and they were never seen again.'
Why did Alex, his mother and grandfather disappear?
Ms Caruana said she believed that her daughter and ex-husband had taken Alex to live abroad as part of an 'alternative lifestyle'.
Speaking about the day Alex didn't come home on the flight, Ms Caruana said in 2018: 'I got this message on Facebook and it was a YouTube video of the three of them.
'They all spoke on it and Melanie said the reasons why they had done what they had done.
'Alex said it was a million times better being with his mum and granddad.
Obviously it hurt a bit but then my other concerns kicked in.
'The reason I believe they have done this is because basically my lifestyle, my belief systems, are not what they agree with - just simply living day to day, how normal people do.
'They didn't want him to go to school, they don't believe in mainstream school.'
Alex's aunt, Maureen Batty, 73, has told how relatives feared for Alex's wellbeing after so long away from his family in Britain and outside mainstream education. Maureen said: 'Alex has been brainwashed by the religion David was in.'
Alex Batty, from Oldham, Lancashire, was just 11 when he did not return from a holiday to Spain with his mother Melanie (left), then 37, and grandfather David (right), then 58, in 2017
Days before he was found, Alex decided flee the 'spiritual community' and his mother and grandfather in the rural foothills of the French Pyrenees (file image)
Over several days, he hiked across mountains in the Pyrenees and crossed through several villages including Quillan (file image), in the upper Aude Valley in southern France
How was Alex found?
Days before he was found, Alex, now 17, fled the 'spiritual community' located in the foothills of the French Pyrenees and spent four days walking across the mountains trying to reach his grandmother in England.
By some stroke of luck, Fabien Accidini, a chiropractic student from Toulouse, was driving along a road while delivering medicines in the mountainous region of Aude when he spotted Alex walking along in pouring rain at around 2am on December 13.
A freezing and exhausted Alex, who was carrying a skateboard, gratefully accepted Fabien's offer of a lift and eventually told him of his extraordinary bid to leave southern France[6] and get home to his family in England.
One of the first things Alex did was message his grandmother from the student's phone to say: 'I love you, I want to come home'.
Fabien told La Depeche newspaper[7] of the moment he discovered the teenager: 'He was walking while the rain fell in heavy drops. The second time I passed him, I decided to offer to drop him off somewhere.
'He was quite tall and blond, and dressed in black jeans, a white sweater and a backpack.
'He also carried a skateboard under his arm and a flashlight for lighting.
His attitude gave me confidence. He ended up getting into my van.'
Fabien told Sky News [8]that Alex seemed tired and stressed when he picked him up, but was 'really fine physically'.
Fabien drove Alex to the commune of Revel, near Toulouse in southern France before the 17-year-old told police who he was.
Speaking about Alex's condition when he was checked over by officials, Leroy said: 'This young man was described by the police who have seen him and by the doctors who examined him as "tired" but overall in good health.
'He's said to be intelligent even though he's never been to school in this entire period.'
Leroy added: 'He doesn't describe any kind of physical violence, without talking about emotional violence.'
Alex, now 17, is set to return home in the coming days, according to Greater Manchester Police, but there are a number of unanswered questions - most notably the whereabouts of Melanie and David
What do we know about what happened to Alex in the last six years?
Alex told Fabien how his mother and grandfather kidnapped him when he was 11 and took him to a luxury villa in Spain with around 10 people as part of a 'spiritual community' in 2017 before moving to France in 2021.
'The mother experienced a sort of obsession with solar panels, so they were travelling to house to house with solar panels,' Toulouse Assistant Public Prosecutor Antoine Leroy said. 'They only used car-sharing, they didn't have their own vehicle.'
Continuing to describe how Alex had been living over the past six years, Leroy said the 'spiritual commune' he was part of would focus on meditation - and there was 'no connection with the real world'.
He added: 'They lived with around ten people - in Morocco, Spain, France - and they were never the same people.
'They got food from allotments and there was work on the ego, meditation, there was no connection with the outside world. They believed in reincarnation.'
Leroy added: 'What I'm describing is what happened in Morocco, in Spain and in France - it was always the same kind of thing.'
'He arrived in France around 2021.
In the middle of the weekend, he decided to leave his mother to join his family in England. He had been walking for more than four days,' Fabien said.
Fabien said Alex had told him that his mother was 'a little crazy' and 'in some bizarre delirium when he was talking about spirituality' but insisted that she had never imprisoned him and he could 'leave when he wanted'.
'He had no animosity towards his mother but he really wanted to find his grandmother. He really missed his loved ones,' Fabien said.
After six years of living a nomadic lifestyle travelling from Morocco to Spain and then on to France - all while never going to school and having to forage for food - Alex decided 'this had to stop', Leroy said.
Leroy said it was his mother's announcement that she planned to move them to Finland that made Alex decide to leave.
He said it's 'possible' Melanie has left France for Finland as she'd hoped.
Alex Batty (pictured left) - a British boy who said he was kidnapped and taken to a 'spiritual commune' by his mother Melanie (centre) and grandfather David (right) six years ago - was 'brainwashed' while living with them, his family in England have said
'When his mother indicated that she was going to leave with him to Finland, this young man understood that this had to stop. So then he decided to leave the place where he was with his mother and walked for four days and four nights,' Leroy said.
In the four days that followed, Alex trekked across the mountains in the French Pyrenees - searching for what little food he could find from the fields and gardens - until he was found by student Fabien Accidini on December 13 at 3am.
Leroy said the youth had spent the past two years in different areas of southern France, living in 'spiritual communities' with his mother, but not in a sect.
'He said he was never locked up,' Leroy told a news conference, adding that the teenager said he had decided to leave his mother when he heard she was planning to move to Finland.
The grandfather died about six months ago, said Leroy, adding the boy's mother might currently be in Finland.
What is going to happen to Alex now?
The teenager, who was 'brainwashed' by Melanie and David according to his family in England, is in the care of social services in Toulouse, southern France.
Alex is set to return to the UK in the next few days, police said, and have an emotional reunion with his grandmother who has spent an agonising six years not knowing if her grandson is alive.
He could return home to the UK as early as December 16 to be with his legal guardian and grandmother, French prosecutors said on December 15.
Police sources said on December 15 that a passport application for Alex was currently being 'expedited', but he is not expected back in the UK before the weekend.
Greater Manchester Police said they were working with French authorities to bring Alex back 'as soon as possible'.
'Our main priority now is to see Alex returned home to his family in the UK and our investigation team are working around the clock with partner agencies and the French authorities to ensure they are all fully supported,' Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes said at a news conference on December 15.
He said police were waiting to speak with Alex to establish the facts about what had happened in the past six years.
What has Alex's grandmother said?
Speaking from the family home in Oldham on December 15, an overwhelmed Ms Caruana said: '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
On the morning of December 15, an elated Ms Caruana revealed she is 'over the moon' after speaking to her grandson on a video call for the first time in six years and is now 'desperate to see him' following his escape from the 'spiritual commune' in the mountainous region of Ariege.
Speaking from the family home in Oldham, an overwhelmed Ms Caruana said: '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.
'I'm desperate to see him over the weekend but I don't know what's happening.
I'm waiting for the authorities to let me know. It's been all over the news. It's breath-taking, and I'm over the moon.
I just can't believe it.'
Ms Caruana told the Daily Mail: 'I'm just elated that he's coming home.'
Speaking about talking to Alex on the phone on the night of December 14 for the first time in six years, the emotional grandmother said: 'When I first heard Alex's voice it was absolutely like a dream.
It is unbelievable.'
Ms Caruana has said she 'can't wait to see him when we're reunited'.
In a statement issued on December 15, Ms Caruana said: 'I cannot begin to express my relief and happiness that Alex has been found safe and well.
'I spoke with him last night and it was so good to hear his voice and see his face again.
I can't wait to see him when we're reunited.
'The main thing is that he's safe, after what would be an overwhelming experience for anyone, not least a child.
'I would ask that our family are given privacy as we welcome Alex back, so we can make this process as comforting as possible.'
References
- ^ Rachael Bunyan (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ James Callery (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ France (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Alex Batty (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Spain (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ France (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ La Depeche newspaper (www.ladepeche.fr)
- ^ Sky News (news.sky.com)