UK police probe alleged abduction of teen found in France after six years
Al Jazeera
Alex Batty disappeared while on holiday with his mother and grandfather, living an off-grid life before he was found last week.
Police in the United Kingdom have launched a criminal investigation into the alleged abduction of a British teen found in France after going missing abroad for six years.
Greater Manchester Police said on Friday that the force has opened the inquiry after interviewing 17-year-old Alex Batty following his return to the UK last week.
Batty disappeared in October 2017 while on a holiday in Spain with his mother and grandfather. He resurfaced in a mountainous area of southern France last week.
The two-week family holiday turned out to be a six-year odyssey through Morocco, Spain and southwest France as he and his mother lived an off-the-grid life.
The teenager told French investigators he had spent the past two years living in “spiritual communities” in France with his mother, never staying more than several months in the same place.
