London, December 15: A British teenager who went missing six years ago in Spain has been found in southern France. 17-year-old Alex Batty was spotted by a delivery driver on the side of a road, who drove him to a police station. Batty disappeared after going on holiday with his mother and grandfather in Spain in 2017.

In an emotional Facebook message, he reached out to his grandmother for the first time in six years, using the phone of the French man who encountered him while he was wandering in the mountains. Missing Indian-American Teen Latest Update: 19-Year-Old Shay Shah Goes Missing from New Jersey Home, Parents Seek Help.

The BBC reported that the teen told the driver that he'd been living in an alternative community with his mother, wanted to live his own life, and he decided to leave. He was taken to the prosecutor's office where his identity was confirmed by family members.

The delivery driver, Fabien Accidini, said he saw the teenager walking along a road in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the early hours of Wednesday morning. US: 2-Year-Old Girl Who Went Missing From Michigan Found Asleep in Remote Area Using Family Dog As Pillow.

"He explained that he had been walking for four days, that he set off from a place in the mountains, though he didn't say where," Accidini said. “I typed his name into the internet and saw that he was being looked for.”

Batty then used the driver's Facebook account to contact his grandmother in the UK.

"Hello Grandma, it's me Alex. I'm in France Toulouse. I really hope that you receive this message. I love you, I want to come home,” he wrote.

His grandmother and legal guardian, Susan Caruana, said that Batty is well. "I am so happy. I have spoken to him and he is well," she said. “It is such a shock.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 15, 2023 10:23 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).