- Melanie Batty left the rented house in a “late night dash” after her son left for the UK
- The 17-year-old's belongings were left in the French hideout
- Alex's mother will reportedly be traveling to the UK with a close Italian friend
The mother of kidnapped teenager Alex Paty has fled her remote hideout in France, hours after discovering the teenager was returning to the UK.
Melanie Patty reportedly left the rented house “late at night” with her belongings after her son resurfaced after six years on the run in Europe.
But suitcases filled with the 17-year-old's clothes, PlayStation games, laptop, books, games, healthy food and milk were all left at the £480-a-month four-bed house in the village of Villefort, near Challaper at Audi.
According to The Sun, Alex's mother is said to be traveling with a close Italian friend, Fabrizio, and only communicates with people via email.
Before leaving, the 43-year-old wrote in an email to her landlord: “I'm so sorry but we had to leave at midnight.” I expect you have seen the news by now. “I left the keys on the bar.”
Last Wednesday, she sent another email saying, “I'll be back one day.”
Alex was 11 years old when he left the UK to spend what he believed was a week-long holiday in Spain with his mother and grandfather David, 64, in 2017.
He returned to this country on Saturday, December 16, having left the family's hippie lifestyle and determined to get a proper education for himself.
Alex has now returned to Oldham, where he is reunited with his grandmother and legal guardian Susan Caruana, 68.
He was represented by lawyers at a family court hearing at Manchester Civil Justice Court today.
She is said to have taken him to live in an itinerant “spiritual community”, and a police investigation into the circumstances of his disappearance remains ongoing, a court heard.
A neighbor in France said Melanie was last seen on Tuesday getting into a white car belonging to Fabrizio.
One of her friends said Melanie called her to say she was “tired of running” but “felt she had no other choice”.
“She believes she is on a mission from God and says she has given her life to a higher spirit,” the friend said.
Owner Tony Smith, 81, knew her as Rose, while David called himself Peter and Alex as Zak.
He said: “When Alex ran, she must have thought the game was over and it was time to go.
“She started making plans where she paid me rent two days before she went, packed her things, cleaned the entire house, and put all the belongings she left behind in the attic.
“She took her own reproach.” I adored that cat, Skye.
The Oldham man first met Melanie last summer at a pub called Café de Sports in the small mountain town of Challaber, before she moved into a converted cowshed on December 5.
Tony believes it will come back, as it is very popular in the area.
Melanie told Tony she needed a place to stay after she received “marching orders” from the municipality she was with in early November.
She brought Alex and David to meet Tony soon after, hoping he would give them a job building another house at his house.
He remembers Alex asking him how he could get an education at such a late age, and the owner suggested he join the army.
It was also revealed that Melanie turned off her phone and uses email to talk to friends. It is believed to be currently in Spain.
Greater Manchester Police are treating his case as a kidnapping.
“Infuriatingly humble analyst. Bacon maven. Proud food specialist. Certified reader. Avid writer. Zombie advocate. Incurable problem solver.”