British boy Alex Batty, 17, who has not been seen since he was 'abducted' in Spain six years ago is found alive and well in France, officials reveal

A British boy who has not been seen since his apparent abduction six years ago has been found alive and well in France, prosecutors said today.

Alex Batty, from Oldham, Lancashire, was just 11 when he did not return from a holiday to Spain with his mother Melanie and grandfather David in 2017. 

Alex flew out to Spain on a pre-agreed trip with Melanie, then 37, and David, then 58, for a week-long stay in the Benahavis area, near Marbella. 

But Alex and his mother and grandfather did not come back home as expected on October 8 2017, sparking a massive police enquiry into the boy's apparent abduction.

Alex’s grandmother and official guardian, Susan Caruana, who was 62 in 2017, speculated that they had settled into ‘an alternative lifestyle’ somewhere.

She said at the time: ‘They didn't want [Alex] to go to school, they don't believe in mainstream school.’

Now prosecutors in south west France are certain that Alex, who is now 17, has turned up alone in Revel, near Toulouse.

La Depeche, the newspaper that covers the area, reported on Thursday: ‘The Alex Batty mystery is about to be solved.

‘Although he did not show any official document to the gendarmes who took him in, this young 17-year-old boy provided his identity on his own.

‘His face and his story correspond in every way to that of the Briton kidnapped in 2017. ‘This Thursday the Toulouse public prosecutor confirmed that it is indeed Alex Batty.’

Investigators believed Alex escaped a rural community living in the foothills of the Pyrenees.

After days of hiking, he was picked up by a lorry driver who became suspicious and called police.

Alex was questioned by defectives, and – La Depeche reported – ‘recounted his incredible journey, serenely and calmly.

‘His story has been verified and appears to correspond to reality. Following this hearing, the teenager was entrusted to the department's social services, while waiting for his relatives to come forward.’

Early enquiries by judicial police working with prosecutors suggest that Alex was living in a ‘spiritual community’ with his mother and grandmother, and mainly staying in caravans and tents.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow...