BACK HOME TO GRANNY
Teen missing for six years flies to UK for emotional reunion
in Toulouse, France
ALEX Batty was on his way home to an emotional reunion with his gran last night, six years after vanishing.
The 17-year-old was set to land at Manchester Airport after taking a flight from Toulouse, France, with British police officers.
His anxious grandmother and legal guardian Susan Caruana, 68, has been waiting for him at her home in Oldham, Lancs.
A source said: “He’s tired but looking forward to getting home.”
Alex went missing aged 11 in 2017 while on holiday in Spain with his mother and grandfather.
He is believed to have been living an “alternative” nomadic lifestyle in Spain, France and Morocco with mum Melanie Batty, 43, and her father David, 64.
EVASIVE
French officials believe David died about six months ago and say Alex decided to leave when his mother moved to Finland.
However, locals in La Bastide – the remote hamlet in the foothills of the Pyrenees where Alex had been living for the last two years – say they saw his grandad, who they knew as Peter, last week. One, Sebastian, said: “He was mowing the grass in front of the gite. I know this because my mum’s border collie loves him. He throws a stick for her. Peter was a nice person. He was very shy. He would speak with me. I tried to speak to him in English, but he was evasive.”
He said Peter had taught his grandson, who called himself Zak, how to be a handyman. Sebastian added: “I didn’t want to report the boy, even though he wasn’t in school. He seemed happy and healthy. He was not being held against his will.”
It was also revealed yesterday that authorities missed a chance to return Alex home when he tried to enrol at a school last month.
The youngster was taken to the gendarmerie in the nearest town, Quillan, but could not provide any identity papers.
A mix-up between French and British officials has been blamed for the failure to identify him as the subject of a global manhunt.
Alex reported to a police station near Toulouse on Wednesday, carrying a skateboard, after being picked up by a delivery driver while wandering along a country road at around 3am in pouring rain.
He is believed to have spent four nights travelling and foraging in fields for food.
French officials said he seemed “intelligent” even though he had not attended school for six years.
On Friday, his gran Susan 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 did not want to report the boy, even though he wasn’t in school. He seemed happy… he was not held against his will