Alex Batty, British teen missing for 6 years, returns to UK after being found in France
A British teen who disappeared six years ago is now back in the U.K., days after he was found wandering in France on Wednesday.
Alex Batty, now 17, was spotted walking through the rain near Toulouse, France, and was taken to the police station by a concerned motorist, the BBC reported.
"He explained that he had been walking for four days, that he set off from a place in the mountains, though he didn't say where," Fabien Accidini, the delivery driver who found Batty, told the BBC.
"I typed his name into the internet and saw that he was being looked for," Accidini said.
Alex had gone missing after going on a vacation with his mother and grandfather in Spain in September 2017. The boy, who was 11 at the time, was supposed to return to his grandmother and guardian in Oldham, a town near Manchester, the Associated Press reported.
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle of Greater Manchester Police told the AP that Alex arrived back in the U.K. on Saturday, but police have "yet to fully establish the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.” Police have also not determined whether a criminal investigation is needed. They said they are searching for Alex's mother and grandfather in connection to his disappearance.
According to the BBC, Alex's mother, Melanie Batty, and grandfather, David Batty, have not been found. The two don't have legal guardianship of the teen. His mother might be in Finland, and his grandfather might have died six months ago, the AP reported.
In France, Alex told officials that he'd been living off the grid with his mother and grandfather for the past six years as part of a "spiritual community." The family reportedly moved across Spain, Morocco and France, grew their own food, meditated and contemplated reincarnation and other esoteric subjects.
French prosecutor Antoine Leroy told reporters that Alex decided to leave after his mother decided to move the family to Finland.
'I want to come home'
Alex used Accidini's Facebook account to reach out to his grandmother, Susan Caruana.
"Hello Grandma, it's me Alex. I'm in France Toulouse. I really hope that you receive this message. I love you, I want to come home," he wrote.
Caruana said she's grateful the teen had been found.
“I cannot begin to express my relief and happiness that Alex has been found safe and well,” she said in a statement issued through British police.
“The main thing is that he’s safe, after what would be an overwhelming experience for anyone, not least a child. I would ask that our family are given privacy as we welcome Alex back, so we can make this process as comforting as possible.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex Batty returns to the UK 6 years after going missing
