Missing British boy Alex Batty found in France after six years

Alex Batty, a British boy, who disappeared after going on holiday with family in Spain in 2017, has been found alive in France.

A motorist had spotted him on a road in the foothills of the Pyrenees near Toulouse, France on Wednesday morning during rain, report BBC and the Independent.con.uk.

Alex had been taken to a police station by the concerned motorist, a police source earlier told BBC News.

He is at a young person’s centre in Toulouse, said the prosecutors’ office in the city, adding that Alex Batty could be back in the UK soon.

The boy Alex messaged his grandmother in the UK by using the motorist Mr Accidini’s phone and said “I love you, I want to come home”.

Alex also used the motorist’s Facebook account to contact his grandmother and wrote”Hello Grandma, it’s me, Alex. I’m in France Toulouse.” He also wrote that he expects his grandmother receives this message.”

Alex Batty, hails from Oldham, Greater Manchester, went missing while travelling with mother Melanie Batty, 38, and grandfather David Batty, 59, in southern Spain in October 2017 when he was just 11.

His mother and grandfather, who do not have parental guardianship of Alex, had settled into “an alternative lifestyle” somewhere, speculated Susan Caruana, Alex’s grandmother and official guardian.

The motorist, Fabien Accidini, saw Alex walking along a road in the foothills; at that time Alex explained that he had been walking for four days.

He said when he typed his name into the internet, he saw that Alex was being looked for.

Alex planned to find a big city with an embassy to find assistance, Mr Accidini told local media, adding that Accidini contacted French authorities for help.

Quoting police, the boy said he had been in France for two years and had been living in the remote Pyrenean valleys, He also travelled about from place to place.

Talking to The Sun newspaper, his grandmother – and legal guardian – Susan Caruana, said she had now been able to contact Alex. She said she was so happy to speak to him