ALex Patty, the British teenager who disappeared aged 11 while on holiday in Spain with his mother and grandfather in 2017, returned to the United Kingdom on Saturday, authorities in Manchester announced.
“This is certainly an important moment for him and his loved ones, and we are delighted that they have seen each other again after such a long time,” Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle said during a press conference. BBC.
The official indicated that he could not comment on the details provided by French authorities, while highlighting that he had not yet questioned the teenager, who is now 17.
“Talking to him at a pace he’s comfortable with will ultimately determine how the case progresses and whether there will be a criminal investigation,” he said.
Recall that Alex left the United Kingdom with his mother Melanie and grandfather David on September 30, 2017 for a pre-agreed two-week vacation to Marbella, Spain with his guardian and grandmother Susan Caruana. The teenager was last seen in Malaga harbor on October 8 that year, the day the family was due to return to the United Kingdom.
In the last few years, Alex has lived an itinerant lifestyle in spiritual communities, crossing Morocco and ‘settled’ in the Pyrenees valleys in the south of France. The teenager decided to run away when his mother proposed to go to Finland.
The teenager is believed to have walked for four days before being found by a concerned driver who spotted him on a road in the foothills of the Pyrenees on Wednesday morning. It was from the cell phone of this man, Fabian Assidini, that he tried to contact his grandmother.
“I cannot express my joy and happiness that Alex is found safe and well,” the woman said in a statement released by authorities on Friday.
Asked for privacy for the family, Susan added, “It was so good to hear his voice and see his face again.”
Also read: How did you live and who did you live with? All about Alex patty, missing for 6 years
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