Since 2017, those close to Alex Batty have had no news from him. The young British boy had disappeared after a holiday in Spain with his mother, who did not have his custody, and his grandfather. On December 13, 2023, he was finally found in the middle of the night by a delivery driver while walking along a road near Toulouse, France. The man who stopped to offer him a ride in his vehicle then drove him to the nearest police station. Once the various checks were carried out, it turned out that it was indeed the young man, now aged 17, who had been wanted for six years. Alex Batty was repatriated to the UK and was able to find his grandmother. After taking the time to enjoy the reunion with his family and friends, the young man agreed to come out of the silence in the columns of SunFriday December 22, 2023. Journalists went to his home in Oldham, near Manchester. Alex Batty then explained that he had lied to French authorities about the details of his escape.
Alex Batty: ‘I lied to try to protect my mother and grandfather’
He assured the gendarmes that he “market for four days and four nights”. But the truth is different. In fact, the former missing person declared that he invented this story to cover his tracks so that the police could find neither his mother nor his grandfather. “I lied to try to protect my mother and grandfather, but I realize they’re probably going to get caught anyway”, he admitted. In that same interview, he stated that he did not consider his mother to be a bad woman. According to him, she “a great person but not a good mother”. For his part, after questioning Alex Batty, Manchester police announced on Friday December 22 the opening of a criminal investigation. “Manchester Police have launched a criminal investigation into child abduction to understand the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Alex Batty from September 30, 2017 to Wednesday December 13, 2023”it was indicated in a press release.