Alex Batty, 17, of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom has been found. He is expected to return to his maternal grandmother Susan Caruana, 68, who is his legal guardian, in England on December 16, 2023.
Batty’s mother Melanie Batty, 43, is believed to be in Finland. His maternal grandfather David Batty died in France in June 2023 at age 64.
Melanie has a law degree but could not hold down a job. Before David’s disappearance, Caruana remarried.
In 2008, Alex’s father left. In 2014, Melanie took Alex to live in a commune in Morocco and David soon followed.
Alex went back to England. In 2017, David and Melanie took Alex to a luxury villa in Malaga, Spain with around 10 people as part of a “spiritual community”.
Caruana thought Alex would only spend a holiday with David and Melanie but the three did not return to England and disappeared. Unbeknownst to Caruana and everyone looking for Alex, the boy spent six years living a nomadic life with David and Alex in Morocco, Spain and France.
Melanie and David were obsessed with solar panels and would travel from house to house with them, according to Alex. In 2021, the three moved to France and lived with a “spiritual community” in the foothills of the French Pyrenees.
In November 2023, Alex tried to enroll in a school in Quillan, Aude, Occitania, France. He spoke little French and could not provide identity papers so teachers contacted police but authorities failed to identify him as a missing person from England.
After David’s death, Melanie said she planned to move to Finland with Alex. On December 10, 2023, the teenager left his mother and started trekking across the mountains in the French Pyrenees.
For four days, Alex survived with the food he found from the fields and gardens. At around 3:00 a.m. on December 13, 2023, chiropractic student Fabien Accidini, 26, of Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, Occitania found Alex carrying a skateboard and walking on the road along in pouring rain.
Accidini was driving along the road while delivering medicines in Aude. He offered Alex a ride and the latter accepted.
In the middle of the night, Alex helped Accidini deliver medicine and told the chiropractic student he wanted to be an engineer. Accidini drove the teenager to Revel, Haute-Garonne before they went to the police.
Using Accidini’s Facebook account, Alex sent a message to Caruana. On December 14, 2023, the British teenager spoke with his grandmother via video call.
CONAN Daily 