A British man who vanished for six years after being abducted by his mother has disclosed that French authorities squandered two significant opportunities to rescue him. Alex Batty went missing in 2017 at the age of 11 when his mother Melanie, who was not his legal guardian, took him on a pre-arranged trip to Spain along with his grandfather David.
His disappearance triggered a massive international missing persons investigation, but for over half a decade, he remained cut off from the outside world as his mother ceased using bank accounts, passports, and any traceable means. The family led a nomadic existence in southern France until 2023, when Alex decided to walk away after leaving a note for them, eventually being found on the side of a road.
He was discovered walking in darkness, carrying his skateboard, by French delivery driver Fabien Accidini near Toulouse. He was later reunited with his grandmother and legal guardian Susan Caruana back at his former home in Oldham, Greater Manchester. Now 20 and a father to a baby daughter, Alex has spoken about his ordeal in the documentary 'Kidnapped By My Mum,' airing tonight on BBC Three at 9pm.
The Abduction and Early Days
The programme's timeline begins in September 2017 when Alex was taken out of the UK by Melanie and David. At the time, he had been living with Susan for two years. Susan recalls: 'Melanie came here and asked if they could go on holiday. Alex was jumping up and down 'please grandma, please grandma, please let me go.' I ended up saying 'yeah.' Do you know, it's funny, it was like they put a spell on me. It was like they made me say 'yes, you can go.' I can't explain why I said 'yes.''
On the day Alex was due to return, Susan received a video from Melanie featuring the boy reading from a script. He said: 'It upsets me to tell you the truth because I don't like hurting your feelings. I want to live with my mummy and grandad. It is one million times better. Stealing me from your daughter is soulless, it is not nice. If you are not selfish and want the best for me then please do not get anybody to look for us. Look into your heart and think what I want. Again, think what I want, not you want. Goodbye.' All contact then ceased.
Missed Rescue Opportunities
Alex has reflected on a missed opportunity to save him while staying at campsites in France for nearly a year in 2022. He says: 'We were always trying to be tight with money. I used to eat one meal a day. Just pasta and sauce on its own for lord knows how long. That's just how I used to eat.' He adds: 'My mum would tell me constantly, 'you need to do spiritual work,' 'you need to do inner work,' but when I was 15, I started really thinking for myself. So, I'd try and find my own answers and when I did, if they differed in any way it would start a row. It was constant battles, constant arguments, constant yelling. So, she kicked me out of her campervan. I was living in a tent for a few months whilst my mum had this really nice warm campervan next to me. It was wintertime, raining, it was wet, it was cold all the time, and my mum was living in this campervan with heating, water and electric, and would rather me sleep outside in a tent.'
Alex speaks to campsite owners Angelique and Serena about why they allowed the family to stay without providing proper identification. Angelique says: 'His mum said they had lost them. And there were complications. They had to hide because they were in danger. I have a heart, so I accepted.' Alex then asks: 'Did you guys ever know who I was? My real name, my real identity?' Angelique responds: 'No, not at all, sorry. We would have called the police. Besides, I regret not doing it.' During this conversation, Alex discovers that a call was made to French social services which could have led to his rescue. Serena says she noticed Alex was sleeping in a small tent over the cold winter months, adding: 'She decided to make you sleep outside in winter. It was very cold, in a small tent… from September to March approximately. And then she left you like that to punish you. And so, then I thought it was a bit of abuse. I thought she was really not a responsible mum. And so, I called social services, except they told me that you were a foreigner and as I did not have your true identity, they couldn't do anything.'
Alex shares this revelation with his grandmother Susan over a phone call. He tells her: 'When I was in the tent, for a few months, the owners of the campsite I was on, they called child protective services, they told them about me. They told them mum, my grandad and me had no documentation. You think that would make them want to come more. I'm so mad, so mad that no one did anything.' French social services bureau, France Enfance Protégée, told the BBC they could not comment on Alex's case for confidentiality reasons.
Second Missed Opportunity
Soon after, there was a second missed opportunity for him to be rescued. After spending winter at the campsite, Alex, Melanie, and David returned to living with Ingrid and Fred, a couple who ran a bed and breakfast and had offered Alex and David free accommodation in return for work. Ingrid tells the documentary about her realisation that Alex wanted an education, saying: 'I think there was a turning point. One time I was going to the shop without him, and he said 'oh, please can you buy me a notebook with lines or squares?' And I said 'oh, you want a notebook?' He said 'yeah, I want a school notebook like you use at school.' He said 'I want to study online. I want to try to catch up. I want to be able to go back to school.' That's how I got aware that actually he was not so happy about being in this remote life.'
Speaking about that time, Alex says: 'I started thinking about wanting to leave. But my mum telling me they'd done this for me, they'd risked prison for me… I just felt horrible.' Ingrid took Alex to Ecole 42, a coding college in Perpignan. The BBC spoke to staff member Marie who met Alex at the time. Alex had given them a fake name of Zach Edwards but later told Marie his real name. Marie says: 'As soon as they left, I told my colleague, how weird was it that he gave us a false name. So, we first look up Zach Edwards. There was nothing. And then he typed Alex Batty… and then we saw all the articles with a photo of him from 10 years ago and for us it was the same person. We have to do something, because potentially he is in danger.' The college director contacted police, who visited Ingrid and Fred's house to speak to Alex, while pretending to be looking for a missing car. Recalling what happened, Alex says: 'I was doing some cleaning, I was sweeping up and these two policemen came walking down and my heart's pounding because of that, and it all started rushing in my head, like no way this is happening.' But the detectives left following a brief discussion with Alex. Alex says: 'I thought they'd come to take me away and honestly, I was nervous. I was relieved when they told me about a stolen car, but also, I was devastated. 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.' The Police Nationale in Perpignan did not respond to the BBC's requests for a statement.
Reflections and Aftermath
Reflecting on his relationship with his mother now, Alex says: 'My relationship with my mum is such a complicated thing. I'm annoyed at what she did... the experiences I missed out on, my lack of education. But speaking to all these people about my mum opened up my eyes to why she did what she did. This entire trip has reconnected me to my mum and grandad and made me want to build that bridge again. 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.'
Officers in the UK interviewed Alex upon his return from France and a criminal investigation was subsequently launched by Greater Manchester Police. But it was discontinued in January 2025 after the force decided there was no realistic chance of criminal prosecution because Mr Batty and his family would not support this. Since returning to the UK, Alex has reintegrated with his wider family and gave his first TV interview to ITV's Good Morning Britain with Susan in January 2024. Alex has passed his maths and English GCSEs and is currently looking for work. He also became a father in January. Melanie's current whereabouts are unknown but French authorities previously said she may have travelled to Finland to see the Northern Lights. She declined to respond to the allegations in the programme, while the BBC received no response from David.
'Kidnapped By My Mum' airs on BBC Three at 9pm tonight then BBC One at 10.40pm. It will also be available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
