Police probing the case of Alex Batty, who was missing abroad for six years, have provided an update.
The criminal investigation into the case had now been discontinued on the basis that Alex and his family would not support a prosecution, Greater Manchester Police said, reports the Mirror.
Alex went missing in 2017, at the age of 11, after his mum Melanie and grandad David failed to return him from a holiday abroad. They set out on an “alternative” nomadic lifestyle, and regularly moved around Spain and France.
Alex finally escaped on December 13, 2023, after an argument with his mum led him to run away from the isolated farmhouse in the French Pyrenees, where they were living.
He travelled to a police station near Toulouse, 70 miles north and handed himself in, having being picked up by a delivery driver while wandering a country road near Chalabre at 3am. He was also spotted at a French diner.
Now, aged 19, Alex lives in Oldham with his gran Susan Caruana, and is readapting to life in the UK.
Greater Manchester Police have now confirmed that the inquiry into his disappearance between September 30 2017 and December 13 2023 has officially concluded because there is no “realistic chance of criminal prosecution”. Alex went missing after his mother, who was not his legal guardian, took him on the pre-arranged trip to Spain with his grandfather.
The force said: “Today (Wednesday 22 January 2025), we have officially closed the criminal investigation into the disappearance of Alex Batty from Oldham, between 30 September 2017 and 13 December 2023. Alex and his grandmother, Susan, have been informed. Since the investigation was launched just over a year ago, detectives in Oldham have explored all possible lines of enquiry, however we have concluded there is insufficient grounds to move forward with any criminal prosecution.”
Detective Superintendent Matt Walker, who led the investigation said: “Alex and his safety has been at the forefront of our minds and actions since he was found in Toulouse, France, in 2023. In our commitment to protecting children, we felt it was important that the circumstances of Alex’s disappearance be properly and thoroughly investigated.
“I led a dedicated team to do exactly that when Alex was first found, and this has continued since. We have consulted with various partners, such as a complex case CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) lawyer and the National Crime Agency throughout, and concluded there would be no realistic chance of criminal prosecution.
“Given this, the right thing to do is bring closure to this chapter of Alex and his family’s lives, particularly as this is the outcome they wished for. Alex is now an adult, safe, and reintegrated with life back in Greater Manchester surrounded by those who love him, which ultimately is the priority.”
Despite his easy-going nature and mature attitude, it is evident Alex had a different childhood from his peers. He said: “We lived in 15 different places during the six years. I can remember all of them. We started off in Spain, staying around the Valencia region for three years. We were in a village called Villalonga in the Gandia region. It was a nice village.
“Then we moved to the Arias region for about two and a half years and stayed at different campsites and houses. Our last place was the farmhouse in La Bastide. It was very isolated and we had no car, so it was difficult.”
During his six years away, he says he made just one friend his own age, a Spanish girl he met in a cafe. He’s now planning a summer holiday to go partying with her and added: “When we were moving around I wasn’t really aware of much in the outside world.
“We were in the mountains a lot, so it was hard to have internet and when we did it was usually very bad. The last farmhouse we were in had decent internet, so I’d watch YouTube, but I didn’t do social media and I’d never take photos of myself [or] of my mum or grandad because we always worried about being found.”
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