Alex Batty: Couple who took him in give heartbreaking testimony 'He was part of our family'

Alex Batty had been missing for six years. And on December 13, the 17-year-old was found in Haute-Garonne. On Saturday December 16, the young British man was repatriated to his maternal grandmother, who lives on the outskirts of Manchester. During these long years of 'nomadic life', the young man who was kidnapped by his mother in 2017 notably lived in a lodging in the Aude village of La Bastide, in the south of France.

A second family

The owners of the place, Frédéric Hambye and Ingrid Beauve, shared a statement this Sunday, December 18, in which they talk about their relationship with Alex Batty, who went by Zach.

He was tidy and took to heart to participate in the life of the Gîte when he was here. He often accompanied us to the market on Sundays to buy himself a Bagnat au Thon and took part in our family life (...) The last time Zach/Alex came back to our place was at the beginning of this summer.

And by spending so much time with the young man, the couple became very close to him.

As time went by, we considered him part of our family, and we think he appreciated the stability and security we represented for him (...) We were keen to help him (without having any parental authority, given that his family was in the region) and we encouraged him to learn French and to study.

A beautiful testimony

So the two owners wanted to help him 'get back to normal' and return to the UK. Frédéric Hambye and Ingrid Beauve concluded:

We told him again that he would always be welcome and that if he needed anything, we were there to help. The rest, and his real name, we found out from the press earlier this week. We wish him all the best.

A heartbreaking testimony from the last people Alex Batty lived with.

Read more:

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This article has been translated from Oh!MyMag FR.

Source :La Dépêche