2 hours ago
2
Ewan Gawne
BBC News, Manchester
GMP
Alex Batty vanished successful 2017 aft being taken connected vacation by household
Police person called disconnected a transgression probe into the disappearance of British teen Alex Batty, who returned to the UK successful 2024 aft going missing for six years.
The lad from Oldham vanished successful 2017 aged 11 aft going connected vacation with his parent and grandfather, earlier helium was recovered successful France successful 2023.
A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said a probe into kid abduction had been dropped arsenic his household did not enactment it and determination was "no realistic accidental of prosecution".
Det Supt Matt Walker said: "The close happening to bash is bring closure to this section of Alex and his family's lives, peculiarly arsenic this is the result they wished for."
Alex was discovered successful the foothills of the Pyrenees successful south-western France adjacent to the metropolis of Toulouse connected 13 December 2023, aft helium was past seen successful the larboard of Malaga six years earlier.
The teen said he, his parent and grandfather, Melanie and David Batty, who were not his ineligible guardians, had lived a "nomadic lifestyle", aft staying successful communes and caravans successful the area.
Alex returned to unrecorded with his grandma successful Oldham soon aft helium was discovered.
Alex went connected vacation with his household successful September 2017 and was past seen a period later
Detectives opened an abduction investigation aft the teen was recovered by a transportation operator who spotted him walking connected a road.
Alex had antecedently said helium did not privation his parent oregon gramps to spell to jailhouse implicit his disappearance, adding helium delayed returning location due to the fact that helium was "worried astir them getting locked up".
But the probe has present been dropped by police, who recovered aft consulting with lawyers astatine the Crown Prosecution Service and National Crime Agency that determination was nary realistic accidental of prosecution.
Det Supt Walker said the unit felt it important to "properly and thoroughly" analyse the disappearance and had "explored each imaginable lines of enquiry".
He said Alex's information had been "at the forefront" of the investigation.
"Alex is present an adult, safe, and reintegrated with beingness backmost successful Greater Manchester surrounded by those who emotion him, which yet is the priority."
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