An 11-year-old boy who vanished for six years in a different country has contacted his mother for the first time since being found by a French delivery driver.
Alex Batty, who is now 20, went missing back in 2017 after he went on holiday with his mother Melanie Batty and his grandfather David Batty.
The trio embarked on an “alternative” nomadic lifestyle around Spain and France with the adults being meant to return the youngster to his grandmother a week later.
After they never returned, a full international investigation being launched into the child’s disappearance.
After six years, a delivery driver found Mr Batty on the side of the road in the foothills of the Pyrenees in south west France.
But, now, he has reached out to his mother for the first time since escaping from her in 2023.
The 20-year-old from Oldham made contact after filming a BBC documentary about his six-year disappearance.
In the BBC programme, Kidnapped By My Mum, he retraces his journey across Spain and France.
Mr Batty has spoken out since he was found
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And, in the programme, it is revealed he sent Melanie Batty a text message saying: “I know how much you care about me and how all you wanted to do was protect me. I love both of you.”
Before the ill-fated trip, the boy had been living with his grandmother Susan Caruana for two years prior to the trip.
During his disappearance, the family adopted an off-grid existence, avoiding bank accounts and passports to evade detection.
During their time at French campsites in 2022, Alex survived on just one meal daily.
Alex Batty went missing 11 years ago
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“Just pasta and sauce on its own for lord knows how long. That’s just how I used to eat,” he said.
After disagreements with his mother at age 15, she expelled him from her campervan, leaving him to sleep in a tent through winter while she stayed in heated accommodation nearby.
Multiple opportunities to rescue Alex were missed during his years abroad.
In one instance, a campsite owner called French social services after witnessing him sleeping in a small tent through freezing winter months.
However, authorities told her they could not intervene because Alex was foreign and his true identity was unknown.
He said: “You think that would make them want to come more. I’m so mad, so mad, that no-one did anything.”
Police also visited the property where the child was staying after a coding college reported concerns about his identity.
Officers spoke to him briefly but left after mentioning they were searching for a stolen vehicle.
He said: “I could have said something there and then, but I didn’t because protecting my mum and grandad, them not going to prison, was at the forefront of my mind.”
Mr Batty admitted he was “annoyed” at his mother over missing out on experiences as well as his lack of education.
“But speaking to all these people about my mum opened up my eyes to why she did what she did,” he said.
“Hopefully one day I’ll be able to get to the point where I can go and see them and have an enjoyable time rather than have my mum push things down my throat like she used to do.”
Greater Manchester Police closed their investigation in January 2025, citing no realistic prospect of prosecution.
Since returning home, Mr Batty has passed his maths and English GCSEs. More recently, he became a father to a baby girl in January.