FINALLY FOUND
Who is Alex Batty’s grandfather David?
Alex made startling claims when he was found by a delivery driver
ALEX Batty was found alive and well in France six years after he vanished on a family holiday to Spain with his mum and grandad in 2017.
Here's everything you need to know about Alex's grandfather David.
2
Who is David Batty?
David Batty, 58, is the grandfather of Alex Batty, who went missing in 2017.
The young boy was only supposed to be in Marbella for a week on a pre-agreed trip with David and his mum Melanie, 37.
But the family never returned home to Oldham, Greater Manchester — leaving his grandmother and legal guardian Susan Caruana devastated.
What happened to Alex Batty?
Alex Batty, from Lancashire, was just 11-years-old when he went missing during a family holiday in Spain.
Read More UK News
Alex was travelling with his mum, Melanie, 37, and grandfather David, 58, when he was apparently abducted.
He had flown out on a pre-agreed trip with his mum and grandad, but his legal guardian Susan remained behind in the UK.
And the three of them were expected to leave Marbella after just a week in the town of Benahavis, but never returned.
Cops launched an investigation into his disappearance, but he remained missing for a further six years.
Most read in The Sun
They had been expected home on October 8 in 2017, but inquiries at the time suggested they may have sailed that day from Malaga to Mellilla on the Moroccan border.
His grandmother Susan, then 62, thought they might have adopted "an alternative lifestyle"; somewhere abroad.
Where was Alex Batty found?
Alex, now 17, was found alive and well in Revel near Tolouse, southern France on December 13, 2023 after he fled his mother's rented home in the Pyrenees mountains and trekked for 22 miles over two days before being discovered.
The first words he said to a delivery driver who picked him up on the side of the road were: "My mother kidnapped me when I was 12 years old".
Fabien Accidini, a student from Toulouse who has a part-time job delivering medicines by lorry, said he spotted the English teenager on Wednesday.
Alex reportedly said he did not know exactly where he had been living in France, except that it was "in the mountains between Ariège and Aude."
Concerned driver Accidini contacted police and on the way to the station Alex borrowed his phone to message his grandmother and tell her he was alive.
Alex reportedly said he did not know exactly where he had been living in France, except that it was "in the mountains between Ariège and Aude."
Concerned driver Accidini contacted police and on the way to the station Alex borrowed his phone to message his nan and legal guardian Susan, 68: “Hello grandma ils(sic) me alex please pick up”.
The driver then took Alex to a police station.
Alex didn't show any ID to the police who questioned him, but was still able to identify himself.
Local reports said: "His face and his story correspond in every way to that of the Briton kidnapped in 2017."
The boy finally returned to the home of his grandmother Susan Caruana in Oldham, Greater Manchester on December 16, 2023.
What has Alex Batty said about his escape?
Alex has explained how he walked out on his mum and grandad after six years of wandering across Europe, saying: “I had an argument with my mum and I just thought I’m gonna leave because I can’t live with her.”
He told The Sun: “We had a stupid argument about nothing.
“My mum can argue about anything so it doesn’t take much. She is very set in her views.
" I just had enough and thought, ‘That’s it, I’m leaving’. I wrote a note and said, ‘Hey, Mom. I want you to know I love you very much. I’m very thankful for the life that you provided for me over the past few years.
“Don’t worry about yourself. I’m sure you won’t get found. Don’t worry about me either. You know I can look after myself. I love you very much. Don’t be angry with me. Love Alex.”
He first had doubts about the nomadic life his mum wanted when he was 14.
His feelings grew stronger towards the end of 2022 as he considered his dreams of becoming a computer software engineer.
Alex said: “I first started thinking about leaving when I was 14 or 15.
“I realised it wasn’t a great way to live for my future. The cloud had lifted because I started weighing everything up again — the pros and cons of England.
“I wouldn’t know what was going to happen in my future if I were to stay with my mum, but from the past few years I could get a picture of what life would have been like.
“Moving around. No friends, no social life. Working, working, work and not studying. That’s the life I imagined I would be leading if I were to stay with my mum.
“It would always be the same whether it was France or Spain.
“In the mountains, in the middle of nowhere. No people my age.
“So when I was about 16 I spoke to grandad about going back to England.
“My mum was against the idea. She was very anti-government, anti-vax.
"She was worried that if I were to go back to a country and get my ID I would be put into care. Her catchphrase was becoming a ‘slave to the system’.
“She wasn’t really open to any other opinions whereas grandad is more of a listener.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
“He was always like, ‘I want you to do what’s best for you’.
“He kept on saying every time, the reason I came with you, is so that I could make sure that you were happy and healthy with a roof over your head.”
2
Topics