Alex Batty: missing Oldham boy found six years later in France

A relative of a British teenager missing for six years claimed he has been "brainwashed" by the community he has lived in and "we don't know what he’ll be like when he comes home".

Alex Batty, from Oldham, was 11 and under the guardianship of his grandmother, Susan Caruana, when he was allegedly abducted in 2017 by his mother, Melanie Batty, and David Batty, his grandfather.

Now 17, he was found near the French city of Toulouse on Wednesday and taken to a police station in the village of Revel by chiropody student Fabien Accidini. Speaking to Sky News, Accidini said that Alex revealed that he had been living in a luxury house in Spain with around 10 people as part of a "spiritual community", before moving to France in around 2021.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

After escaping from a commune in France, he reportedly he sent a message to Caruana this week that said: "I love you, I want to come home." He had been hiking in nearby mountains for several days in an attempt to return to England.

Caruana said in 2018 that she believed a disagreement about how the boy should be cared for was at the root of his disappearance, said the BBC. Alex's aunt, Maureen Batty, 73, told the Daily Mail that Alex escaped from the commune as he "didn't want to lead that lifestyle" any more.

Alex has been "brainwashed by the religion [grandfather] David was in", she said. He "hasn't had any education while out there, so we don't know what he’ll be like when he comes home", she said, adding that he has "had it rough".

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes said Greater Manchester Police was "relieved and overjoyed" to hear that Alex had been found. "This is a huge moment for Alex, for his family and for the community in Oldham," he added. However, Greater Manchester Police has offered no comment on the whereabouts of Alex's mother and grandfather.