A BRITISH teen who disappeared on holiday six years ago fled a commune in the mountains and hiked for days on foot before he was rescued.
Alex Batty, then 11, was travelling in Spain with his mum and grandad in 2017 when he vanished.
Greater Manchester PoliceBrit Alex Batty was found alive in France after trekking through the Pyrenees mountains[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationHe was on holiday with his mum Melanie (pictured) in 2017 but never returned to the UK[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationAlex’s grandad David Batty, 58, was also on the trip in Benehavis, near Marbella[/caption]
The young boy was only supposed to be in Marbella for a week on a pre-agreed trip with his mum, Melanie, 37, and grandfather David, 58.
However after a week the three did not return home to Oldham, Greater Manchester, leaving his grandmother and legal guardian Susan Caruana devastated.
Alex hadn’t been seen in six years until he showed up on Thursday in Revel, near Toulouse in France, almost 900 miles from where he was last seen.
The 17-year-old reportedly fled a rural “spiritual community” in the Pyreneese mountains where he had been living in caravans and tents with Melanie and David.
He hiked on foot for days with a backpack, skateboard and headlamp before a lorry driver found him and picked him up.
The concerned driver contacted police and on the way to the station Alex borrowed his phone to message his grandmother and tell her he was alive.
It’s claimed he’d had enough living an “alternative lifestyle” and decided to leave.
His concerned grandmother Susan, then 62, thought her daughter and ex-husband might have adopted “an alternative lifestyle” with the 11-year-old somewhere abroad.
Today she spoke to The Sun from her home and said she was “thrilled” that her grandson has finally been found.
She said: “I am so happy. I have spoken to him and he is well.
“He is currently with the authorities in France. It is such a shock.
“I don’t know where his mum is. It is great news. I am just waiting for him to come home – I am thrilled.”
A heartbroken Susan had said at the time: “They didn’t want [Alex] to go to school, they don’t believe in mainstream school.”
And she revealed that her daughter and ex-husband previously lived on a commune in Morocco with Alex in 2014.
Alex was able to identify himself in an interview with cops, without any official ID.
The teen reportedly told the story of what had happened to him “serenely and calmly”.
“His face and his story correspond in every way to that of the Briton kidnapped in 2017,” local reports said.
He is now apparently with social services while Greater Manchester Police work with French authorities.
Manchester cops said: “This is a complex and long-running investigation, and we need to make further enquiries as well as putting appropriate safeguarding measures in place.”
A French police spokesman added: “We can confirm that the young man who has been found is Alex Batty. He is well and providing information”.
Susan never gave up hope that her grandson would one day be found.
Wishing him his last happy birthday message, she posted on Facebook: “Please just give me a sign that you are okay.
“All I want to know is that you’re alive and well. It’s been years of torture. My heart is broken.
“I love you so much. I hope that I will see you again some day. I would give anything just for one hug.”
She said of his disappearance in 2018: “On the Sunday, they were due back in the afternoon and my husband was going to go and pick them up.
“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 grandad. Obviously it hurt me 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.”
In a statement, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “We are supporting a British national in France and are in contact with local authorities.”
Alex’s mother and grandfather remain wanted in connection with his disappearance.
PA:Press AssociationAlex’s grandmother and legal guardian said she has spoken to him and is thrilled he has been found safe[/caption]