(RightWing.org) – A British woman named Susan Caruana has been looking for her grandson, Alex Batty, since he went missing during a weeklong visit to Spain with his mother and grandfather, Melanie and David Batty, in 2017. Susan was the then-11-year-old’s legal guardian and reported his disappearance after she received a recorded message from Melanie informing her the trio wouldn’t be returning to the United Kingdom. In an unexpected turn of events, the now-17-year-old has returned to England.
On December 16, a spokesperson for the Greater Manchester Police Department told reporters that Alex, now 17, was safely returning to his grandmother’s home six years after he vanished. He escaped from a commune located in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains near the French city of Toulouse.
Alex waved down a passerby and caught a ride with him to a local police station after telling his rescuer that his mother had kidnapped him five years ago. He recounted living in a “spiritual community” in France for the last two years. Alex said he was initially in Spain after his mother kidnapped him.
After interviewing him, French authorities arranged for Alex’s quick return to the United Kingdom. British law enforcement officials and an unidentified family member met the teen at Toulouse–Blagnac Airport before he started his belated trip home.
The Sun reported that Susan said she missed Alex horribly after his disappearance but never gave up hope of finding him. The media company also reported that she got to speak with Alex shortly after his escape. She said he was doing well.
Melanie broke up with Alex’s father and abandoned her son with Susan in 2014. She subsequently moved to Bali with her new boyfriend and didn’t maintain regular contact with Alex for several years until shortly before their ill-fated trip to Spain several years later.
British authorities are reportedly preparing the required documents to arrest Melanie and David. However, news outlets reported that law enforcement officials hadn’t located them yet.
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