Dec. 22 (UPI) — British police Friday announced they have opened an investigation into the alleged abduction of teenager Alex Batty who recently resurfaced after being reported missing six years ago.
Greater Manchester Police said they have interviewed Batty, 17, to establish whether he was abducted when he went missing while on vacation in Spain when he was 11.
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Police told the BBC they wouldn’t be able to confirm the nature of the investigation until Batty provided a statement.
Batty was found walking near the French city of Toulouse on Wednesday when he was picked up by Fabien Accidini.
Batty told The Sun in an interview that he had been living with his mother and grandfather for six years as they wandered across Europe before deciding finally to leave them.
“I had an argument with my mum and I just thought I’m gonna leave because I can’t live with her,” Alex said.
He said he grew tired of a nomadic life spent mostly in the mountains with no friends his own age and with constant work and no education.
He said his mother was anti-government and opposed vaccines, adding he just didn’t see the future he wanted for himself living with her.
When he was found and given a ride by a delivery driver at 3 a.m. he used the man’s phone to message his grandmother and legal guardian Susan Caruana.
She told the BBC in 2018 that she thought the teen’s mother and grandfather took him to live in a spiritual community in Morocco as they sought an alternative lifestyle.
When found, Alex lied to police telling them he had taken a trip across the Pyrenees rather than a two day hike of 22 miles, in an attempt to protect his mother and grandfather from child abduction charges.
“I’ve been lying to try and protect my mum and grandad but I realize that they’re probably going to get caught anyway,” he said.
