The Gite de la Bastide farmhouse in the French Pyrenees has spoken out about the time missing British teenager Alex Batty spent living there. Alex disappeared in 2017 whilst on holiday in Spain with his mother and grandfather, but recently turned up in the area after walking alone for days. The gite owners, Frederic Hambye and Ingrid Beauve, stated that Alex, who they knew as Zach, was “part of our family” whilst staying with them, likely on and off over the last two years. He did odd jobs around the property in return for food and accommodation and joined the couple on several outings throughout the summer.
According to French authorities, the family’s lifestyle was nomadic moving between Morocco, Spain and France, meaning Alex’s mother did not live with him full-time at the gite. However, Alex would join her from time to time, and reportedly voiced a desire to “return to a normal life”. The owners of the property helped him find a place at a local school, but discovered he needed official identification which he did not possess. In early summer, Alex returned to the gite for the last time and informed the owners of his intention to return to the UK to get the identity documents so he could attend school for computer science. When he left, the couple told him he “would always be welcome” and “if needed, we were there to help him.”
The Greater Manchester Police state they need to fully establish the circumstances of Alex’s disappearance to decide whether a criminal investigation is necessary. Instead, their current priorities are to support Alex and his family and aid his reintegration into society. Alex’s mother’s whereabouts are unknown, though French prosecutors report she planned to take him to Finland, which prompted Alex’s decision to return to the UK
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