Alex Batty now centre of investigation as police interview boy who went missing in Spain - live
Officers have officially launched a criminal investigation into the alleged abduction of the teenager who went missing six years ago while on holiday in Spain
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Greater Manchester Police have launched a criminal investigation into the alleged child abduction of Alex Batty after the teenager was formally interviewed by officers.
The 17-year-old made headlines across the world when he was discovered walking on an isolated road in Toulouse, six years after being reported missing while on holiday with his mother, Melanie Batty, and grandfather, David Batty.
He initially said he had been hiking for four days before being found.
It comes after he told The Sun that he lied over his escape from France to protect his mother and grandfather. He said: “I didn’t get lost. I knew exactly where I was going.”
The teenager also said he’d wanted to return home ot his grandmother, Susan Caruana, his legal guardian, to go to college. He said that the reunion with Ms Caruana had other family members had been emotional.
Criminal investigation launched
Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that they have launched a criminal investigation into the alleged child abduction of Alex Batty.
They added that officers had now formally interviewed the 17-year-old after he returned to the UK on Saturday.
Missing British boy Alex Batty found in France six years after he was ‘abducted’
A British boy who has not been seen since his apparent abduction six years ago has been found alive and well near Toulouse in France.
Alex Batty, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, was just 11 when he went missing while travelling with family members in southern Spain in October 2017.
He was with his mother Melanie Batty, 38, and grandfather David Batty, 59, who do not have parental guardianship of Alex.
Missing British boy Alex Batty found in France six years after he was ‘abducted’
Alex was 11 when he went ‘missing’ while travelling with family members in Spain
Teenager appeared alone in east of Toulouse after missing for six years
Prosecutors in southwest France say Alex, 17, has turned up alone in Revel, east of Toulouse.
Fabien Accidini, a chiropractic student from Toulouse who has a part-time job delivering medicines by lorry, said he spotted the teenager in the early hours of Wednesday.
Mr Accidini told La Depeche:”‘He was walking while the rain fell in heavy drops. The second time I passed him, I decided to offer to drop him off somewhere.
“He was quite tall and blond, and dressed in black jeans, a white sweater and a backpack. He also carried a skateboard under his arm and a flashlight for lighting. His attitude gave me confidence. He ended up getting into my van.
“We talked for over three hours! Very quickly, he gave me his real identity – Alex Batty – before telling me his story.”
Missing boy found after six years told driver who found him ‘my mother kidnapped me when I was 12’
A British boy who has been missing for six years told the French lorry driver who found him walking alone on an isolated country road: ‘My mother kidnapped me when I was 12 years old’.
Startling details of now 17-year-old Alex Batty’s ordeal began to emerge on Thursday evening, after it was confirmed he had been found safe and well.
Read the full story here:
Missing boy found after six years told driver who found him ‘my mother kidnapped me’
Lorry driver discovered missing British boy Alex Batty walking in the mountains in France and offered to give him a lift
Alex Batty ‘hiked for four days in France mountains’ in bid to come home
It is understood that Alex Batty, who is now 17, had been hiking for four days in mountains near the southern French city of Toulouse in an effort to get back to England.
He was seen walking alone at night by pharmacy delivery driver and student Fabien Accidini who then offered him a lift.
Mr Accidini was delivering medicines to pharmacies on the night he picked up Alex, and said the teenager had helped him with his job along the way.
Watch: Grandmother of missing schoolboy Alex Batty, Susan Caruana, makes emotional plea
When did Alex Batty go missing?
Alex Batty, from Fitton Hill in Oldham, went abroad with his mother Melanie Batty who does not have legal parental guardianship, and his grandfather David Batty on a pre-agreed trip in 2017. He was 12-years-old at the time.
They did not return to England as expected on October 8 2017 and he had not been seen since.
Despite international public appeals, Alex’s legal guardian and grandmother Susan Caruana had not seen him since he left the UK.
She previously said her daughter and ex-husband lived in a commune in Morocco with Alex in 2014 as part of an “alternative lifestyle”, which she thought lay behind the youngster’s disappearance.
Ms Caruana pleaded for the youngster to get in contact with her in 2018, saying: “I just want to say to my grandson Alex, I love you so much and please, please just get in contact.”
‘He’s coming home’: Alex and grandmother share long-awaited phone call
Alex Batty has reportedly spoken to his grandmother, Susan Caruana, after he was found in France.
Ms Caruana’s husband, Emanuel, told Manchester Evening News that his wife has “briefly” spoken to Alex over the phone.
He said: “She’s happy he’s well and safe and he’s coming home.”
Alex Batty expected to make emotional return home to England today
The British teenager found in France after a six-year disappearance following an alleged kidnap by his own mother was today expected to make an emotional return home to England.
Alex Batty, 17, was on Friday morning still in the care of social services in the south-west City of Toulouse.
But a French police spokesman said he was likely to fly to Manchester, before returning to the home of his grandmother, Susan Caruana, 68, in Oldham.
“She is his legal guardian, and the case is now in the hands of Manchester police,” said the source.
“The young man is staying at a youth hostel in Toulouse, but should be back in Britain soon.”
Ms Caruana is said to be too frail to travel to Toulouse, but a team of British police officers is expected to pick Alex up.
Greater Manchester Police are now giving an update on the case. Stay tuned.
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