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

Aunt claims 17-year-old has been 'brainwashed' after being kept in a 'spiritual community'

Alex Batty
Alex Batty sent a message to his grandmother, Susan Caruana, saying: 'I love you, I want to come home'
(Image credit: Greater Manchester Police)

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.

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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.

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.

 
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.