Alex Batty: Boy who went missing on holiday six years ago found in France

Alex Batty disappeared on holiday in Spain in 2017

A boy who disappeared on holiday in Spain six years ago, aged 11, has been found in France.

Alex Batty, from Oldham, vanished while in Marbella with his mother, Melanie, and grandfather, David, who at the time did not live with him.

Family members at the time speculated the three may have gone to live in an “alternative” community. His legal guardian, his grandmother Susan Caruana, said she believed Alex's mother and grandfather had taken him to live in Morocco, as they did not want him to go to school and live an “ordinary” life.

Alex Batty was found near Revel, Toulouse.

She said the trio had lived in a community in Morocco three years before Alex’s disappearance.

Reports in France have claimed the 17-year-old, who is said to have been taken to French police by a concerned passer-by, had escaped a spiritual community living in tents in the Pyrenees. He is said to have told them he had been in France for two years.

It has been reported that police believed the teenager bore a strong resemblance to the last known picture of Alex.

La Depeche, the local newspaper for the area of Toulouse where Alex was found, said: “The Alex Batty mystery is about to be solved. Although he did not show any official document to the gendarmes who took him in, this young 17-year-old boy provided his identity on his own.

“His face and his story correspond in every way to that of the Briton kidnapped in 2017. This Thursday the Toulouse public prosecutor confirmed that it is indeed Alex Batty.”

The newspaper added: “His story has been verified and appears to correspond to reality. Following this hearing, the teenager was entrusted to the department’s social services, while waiting for his relatives to come forward.”

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police 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."

David and Melanie Batty have not been located, but are wanted by police in connection with Alex's disappearance.