Alex Batty reveals heartbreaking final note to mother Melanie after he leaves her in France
22 December 2023, 08:46
Alex Batty wrote a heartbreaking final note to his mother as he left her, telling her not to worry about being found and pleading for her not to be angry at him.
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The British teen disappeared while on holiday with mother Melanie and his grandfather, David, six years ago.
But he suddenly re-emerged in southern France, having got a delivery driver to take him to police so he could fly home and be with his grandmother.
He has now admitted he made up a story about hiking over they Pyrenees for four days in a bid to stop his mother being tracked down.
And he has revealed more details about his mother, saying she was "anti-government" and anti-vaxx, and he had got fed up with her "pain in the a**" lifestyle.
He finally left Melanie, who was believed to be trying to pursue a "spiritual" way of life, after they got into a row over a trivial matter.
Alex has now told The Sun about the last note he left the 43-year-old.
"Hey, Mom. I want you to know I love you very much. I'm very thankful for the life that you provided for me over the past few years," he wrote.
"Don't worry about yourself. I'm sure you won't get found. Don't worry about me either. You know I can look after myself. I love you very much. Don't be angry with me. Love Alex."
Alex has said his mother was "not very warm and open" and did not "listen much to anyone".
"She's set in her ways. You can't really change her beliefs or anything and that's just a pain in the a to deal with," he said.
Once, she even left him with his grandad for seven months while she travelled around France.
He decided to leave her in Quillan, where he caught a lift with a delivery driver and used his phone to contact his grandmother Susan Caruana, who lived in in Oldham.
Alex spun a story that he had been walking for four days because he was fearful Melanie would get caught.
He has now been brought back to his grandmother and police are hoping he will be able to gradually reintegrate into society.
Melanie - who uses the pseudonym Rose - is planning to travel to Finland with friends to see the Northern Lights, but may be using a network of friends in France and Spain to dodge authorities.
Meanwhile, Alex - who had the pseudonym Zack Edwards - said he adored his grandad, David.
"I never knew my dad so my grandad and step-grandad have both raised me. Grandad Batty is a great guy," he said.
"He's just a lot more like your grandfather should be, teaching you lessons and listening to me."
Having returned to the UK, he is living with his grandmother, and plans to study computer science, cyber security or blockchain development.
"I'm going to be very busy studying and catching up on things," Alex said.
