18 December 2023 , 20:39
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The mum of a British teenager found in France six years after he vanished with her wanted to set up her own spiritual community, it is claimed.
Alex Batty was just 11 when he disappeared after going on holiday to Spain with his mum Melanie in 2017. Now 17, he was picked up carrying his skateboard as he walked along a country road near Toulouse in south-west France.
Melanie is understood to have lived in a caravan on a campsite in France’s remote Ariege region, using the name Rose. Expat Susie Harrison, 61, who knew her, said Rose gave massages and wanted to set up the commune in the south of France.
Alex disappeared more than six years ago with his mum and grandfather (Pixel8000)She said: “Rose is a conspiracy theorist. She believed that Covid-19 was created by the state to control people.” Alex told French police he left after she planned a move to Finland.
He flew home on Saturday to be reunited with his gran and legal guardian Susan Caruana, 68, in Oldham, Greater Manchester. He said today: “I’m glad to be home for Christmas.” Police will be speaking to him this week. It is believed he was taken by his mum and her dad David Batty, 64, to live an alternative lifestyle in Morocco. They later lived in Spain and most recently the Pyrenees.
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In 2021, Alex began living with his grandad in a village property 35 miles from Perpignan. Frederic Hambye and Ingrid Beauve, who own the home, said Melanie, 43, lived nearby in a “spiritual” community. Reports suggested David had died six months ago, but Ms Harrison said she saw the man she knew as Peter two weeks ago.