Missing boy found in France returns to Britain

Platform X

Alex Batty, the British teenager who resurfaced in southern France after disappearing six years ago, returned to Britain on Saturday, local police said.

The boy, who left a spiritualist community in the Pyrenees mountains, disappeared at the age of 11 during a holiday with his mother and grandfather in Malaga, Spain, in 2017.

Greater Manchester Police said the teenager met with a relative and police officers, who accompanied him on his journey back to Britain.

"It gives me great pleasure to say that Alex has now made his safe return to the UK after six years," Matt Boyle, assistant chief constable, told reporters.

Boyle said they need to speak with the teenager to go over what happened to him to determine whether there will be a criminal investigation.

The teenager had spent the past two years in different areas of southern France, living in "spiritual communities" with his mother, but not in a sect, Toulouse deputy prosecutor Antoine Leroy said on Friday.

The grandfather died about six months ago, said Leroy, adding that the boy's mother might currently be in Finland.

France's BFM TV has reported a search operation was underway to find Batty's mother.

More from International News

  • Netanyahu says Israel to decide which international forces in Gaza acceptable

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would determine which foreign forces it would allow as part of a planned international force in Gaza to help secure an end to its war under US President Donald Trump's plan.

  • Two suspects in Louvre jewel heist case arrested in Paris

    Two suspects in the brazen daylight heist of some of France's crown jewels from the Louvre were arrested in Paris on Saturday evening and are being questioned, Le Parisien newspaper reported on Sunday, citing sources close to the investigation.

  • Russian attack on Kyiv kills three, injures 31

    Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for new strong sanctions against Russia and its allies after Russian drones killed three and injured 31, including six children, in an overnight air attack on Kyiv.

  • PKK announces withdrawal from Turkey

    The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said on Sunday it was withdrawing from Turkey as part of a disarmament process it is coordinating with the government, and pressed Ankara for concrete measures to move the process along.

Blogs