Found while walking in a mountainous area on the 13th… Video call with grandma
Additional confirmation will be carried out upon return to the UK.
A British boy who went missing six years ago has been found as a teenager walking down a street in southwestern France. British police said he was greatly relieved and very happy to learn the boy was alive.
Manchester police said the teenager, claiming to be Alex Batty, had a video call with his grandmother Susan Caruana. Manchester Police Deputy Chief Constable Cricks Sykes said Caruana was satisfied the teenager was Alex, but wanted further confirmation after he returned to the UK.
He added that police were trying to establish all the circumstances surrounding Alex’s disappearance and where and how he had been over the years.
Sykes added: “Our priority now is to ensure Alex’s return to his family in the UK and we will work with the French authorities to provide every support possible.”
Batty, now 17, went on holiday to Spain in 2017 with her mother and grandfather, who were not her legal guardians, and was unable to return to her family in Manchester.
A delivery driver found a lost and haggard-looking youth on the side of a road near Toulouse on the night of the 13th and took him to the police station. The man, named Fabian Assidini, said the boy claimed he had been kidnapped and lived with a spiritual community in Spain before moving to France about two years ago.
“He told me he decided to leave because he wanted to live a normal life, he wanted to see his grandmother again and he wanted a normal future,” Assidini added. He said the teenager had been walking in the mountains for four days.
Manchester police said the teenager’s mother, Melanie Batty, and grandfather, David Batty, were being sought in connection with the teenager’s disappearance and their whereabouts were unknown.
[런던=AP/뉴시스]
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.