Six years ago, Alex Paty, now 17, went to Spain with his mother and grandfather and disappeared. He was found on Wednesday in the French city of Revel, near Toulouse, according to reports BBC. The young British man was in good health and confirmed that he had not been subjected to any ill-treatment.
As he was driving, chiropractic student Fabien Oxedini saw a young man walking on a road in the foothills of the Pyrenees, with nothing but a backpack and his snowboard. He felt sorry for the young man and decided to give him a ride. They spent more than three hours together in the car, and although he initially gave a false name, Alex ended up telling his story, according to the British newspaper The Guardian. French newspaper La Debiche. The British teenager, who had been hiking in the mountains for more than four days, asked Fabian for his cell phone so he could send a message to his grandmother, Susan Caruana, to say he was fine and wanted to see her.
On September 30, 2017, Alex Batty, then 11 years old, traveled with his mother Melanie Batty and grandfather David Batty to Marbella in Spain. They were last seen on October 8 in the port of Malaga, the day they were supposed to return home.
In 2018, the minor’s grandmother and guardian said BBC who suspected that her daughter and ex-husband had taken Alex to live with a spiritual community in Morocco, where they had already taken him before, in 2014. Melanie and David wanted an alternative lifestyle and were opposed to Alex going to school. A search is underway for the mother and grandfather.
The young man was living in Spain in a luxurious house in which 10 other people lived, members of the “spiritual community.” After this experience, Alex and his family moved to France in 2021, where they lived in a sort of itinerant community. Alex considered his mother “a bit strange,” according to Le Depeche newspaper, and decided to leave. The area in which it was found is known for attracting those who are looking for a different lifestyle than the usual.
Alex is currently waiting in French social services for the arrival of the police and members of the British Consulate so that he can be transferred to England. A Manchester Police spokesman said: “This is a complex and long-term investigation, and we need to investigate further as well as put appropriate safeguards in place.”
