2023-12-15 15:26:36
Disappeared in 2017, a British teenager found this week in France, in the Toulouse region, must be repatriated soon to England, near Manchester, and returned to his grandmother, “very happy” to find this grandson of whom she in custody.
Also read: A teenager who disappeared 6 years ago was found in France: he lived in a sectarian community
It is “expected” in “the coming days”, added at a press conference its deputy chief commissioner, Chris Sykes, according to whom “there remains work to establish the precise circumstances of this disappearance” six years ago.
Alex Batty, then aged 11, left the United Kingdom on September 30, 2017 to spend holidays in Spain with his mother Melanie Batty, who did not have custody of him, and his grandfather David Batty, still according to the police.
But, contrary to what was expected, he did not return to England on October 8 of that same year. Extensive searches, with the help of the Spanish authorities, failed to locate him.
Found by a delivery man
He was found during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, wandering on a road near Toulouse, by a delivery driver who took him to a gendarmerie station. Thanks to close collaboration with the French authorities and Alex’s family, the identity of the young man was confirmed, Greater Manchester Police said.
Currently, the young man “is sheltered, social services have taken care of him”, said the Toulouse prosecutor, without specifying his whereabouts. Mr. Vuelta-Simon is due to hold a press conference in the afternoon in Toulouse.
“We are in contact, of course, with the British police”, in particular to organize the repatriation, he continued, adding: “Recognition is well established, there is no problem”.
“This is an extraordinary moment for Alex, his family and the people of Oldham”, the town of Greater Manchester where he is from, said Mr. Sykes, according to the police press release.
No doubt
“I’m very happy,” the grandmother told British newspaper The Sun on Thursday. “I spoke to him (…) and there is no doubt that it is him. When he was with us, I was speaking to a child, now I am speaking to a man,” she said. elsewhere claimed according to the Times on Friday.
“It’s so incredible not to know if someone is dead or alive,” Susan Caruana added to this British daily. The mother and grandfather “have not been found, but they are still being sought”, according to the BBC.
Citing a police source, the British media writes that the young man, who is in good health, claimed not to have suffered ill-treatment. His grandmother said in 2018 that she believed Alex’s mother and grandfather, from whom she is divorced, had taken him to live in a “spiritual community” in Morocco.
alex batty
1702662306
#Missing #years #France #young #Englishman #Alex #Batty #repatriated #United #Kingdom