British Teen Found in France After Vanishing 6 Years Earlier Says He's Been 'Lying' About Escape

Alex Batty turned up on a French roadside earlier this month after first vanishing on a family trip six years ago

A British teenager who went missing for six years before turning up in France earlier this month is finally breaking his silence.

Alex Batty first vanished during a 2017 holiday trip to Spain with his mother and grandfather when he was 11 years old. Last week, authorities in France said Batty, now 17, turned up on a rainy French roadway in the middle of the night.

A delivery driver picked Batty up and brought him to French police after searching the boy’s name online and realizing he had been missing for roughly six years.

Now, Batty is speaking out for the first time, describing his last six years and why he left during a sit-down interview with the United Kingdom tabloid The Sun.

"I've been lying to try and protect my mum and grandad but I realize that they're probably gonna get caught anyway," he told The Sun. "I didn't get lost. I knew exactly where I was going.”

Related: British Boy Vanished in Spain in 2017. Officials Believe They've Found Him in France

The Greater Manchester Police said in a statement that neither Batty’s mother Mekanie Batty, 43, and his grandfather David Batty, 64, had legal custody of him when he went missing in 2017.

Police said authorities were “relieved and overjoyed” to find Batty after more than half a decade searching for him across Europe. The 17-year-old spoke with his grandmother on the phone at the police station, and he told The Sun this week that he’s now living with her in Oldham, northern England.

Batty told French authorities last week that he decided to run away from his family in 2017 after learning his mom planned to move them to Finland, according to The Associated Press.

The boy told The Sun this week that he grew tired of moving around Europe with his mother and that he “realized it wasn't a great way to live for my future” by staying with her. He also took umbrage with his mother for what he described as "anti-government, anti-vax" views.

"She's a great person and I love her but she's just not a great mum," Batty said about his mom.

"I had an argument with my mum and I just thought I'm gonna leave because I can't live with her," Batty added, describing why he ran away.

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Batty had told police he’d been living in a "spiritual community” and rarely stayed in the same place for longer than a few months, according to the AP.

“He was never locked up,” French prosecutor Antoine Leroy said at a news conference after Batty was found, according to the AP. “But he was always obliged to live in these conditions.”

The Greater Manchester Police said its “main priority now is to see Alex returned home to his family in the UK.”

“Alex and his family remain our focus," Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes said in a statement. "We still have some work to do in establishing the full circumstances surrounding his disappearance and where he has been."

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