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Six years ago, then eleven-year-old Alex Batty disappeared without a trace during a trip to Spain, but now the 17-year-old Briton has been found near the French city of Toulouse. The British and French media report this, citing the researchers.

Accordingly, the young man was found alive and well in France after apparently escaping from a cult. After several days of investigation, the Toulouse Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed on Thursday that it was indeed the missing man.

Batty, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, was 11 years old when he went on holiday to Spain with his mother and grandfather in 2017, even though authorities had refused them access to the boy.

When the family did not return, Batty’s grandmother, who has custody of Alex, reported that her grandson was missing and expressed suspicion that his mother and grandfather wanted to live an “alternative lifestyle” with him. “They didn’t want Alex to go to school, they didn’t believe in a regular school,” she told the Mirror.

Batty fled the cult on foot

And she was probably right: according to the Mirror, initial investigations by the police in collaboration with the Public Prosecution Service show that Batty lived with his mother and grandfather in a ‘spiritual community’ and mainly stayed in caravans and tents, sometimes even sleeping. in the wilderness. Now, at the age of 17, Batty is said to have fled the rural community at the foot of the Pyrenees.

After days of walking, a truck driver came to pick him up. He became suspicious and alerted the police. When Batty was questioned by the officers, he reported his experiences and introduced himself as Alex Batty. “His face and his story correspond in every respect to that of the Briton who was kidnapped in 2017,” the “Mirror” quoted the responsible authorities.

A spokesperson for the French Gendarmerie said: “We can confirm that the young man found is Alex Batty. He is doing well and providing information.” French authorities have been in contact with police in the Greater Manchester region, who have “spoken to his family in England”.