EA British boy who has been missing for six years is back in his homeland. The 17-year-old youth returned to his grandmother Susan Caruana in Oldham near Manchester on Saturday evening, Greater Manchester Police said. In 2017, he went on vacation to Spain with his mother and grandfather, who were actually banned from contacting them – but never came back.
In the years that followed, the trio lived with an itinerant spiritual community, primarily in southern France, but also in Spain and Morocco. Residents of the small town of La Bastide in the French Pyrenees had reported to the BBC that the missing boy had been staying in a guesthouse on and off for the past two years.
Grandmother speaks of a cult
The teenager recently reported to a French police station after secretly leaving the group – a cult according to his custodial grandmother – and wandering around the area for several days.
According to the BBC report, the boy was picked up by a van driver in the middle of the night. The driver, Fabien Accidini, is said to have lent the teenager his smartphone and allowed him to use his Facebook account to contact his grandmother, Susan Caruana.
The British broadcaster writes that French officials said the teenager decided to leave because his mother wanted to move to Finland.
The 17-year-old teenager met his step-grandfather and British police officers in Toulouse and flew with them to Great Britain, the police said. “This was undoubtedly a huge moment for him and his loved ones and we are glad they were able to see each other again after all this time,” Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle said. Only after she has spoken calmly with the boy will the authorities decide whether to start a criminal investigation, said Boyle.
The boy's grandmother was already relieved on Friday evening. “I spoke to him last night and it was so good to hear his voice and see him,” she said after a video call. “I can’t wait to be reunited with him.”
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