bickster Posted December 17, 2023 Moderator Share Posted December 17, 2023 For mash get Smash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 The story about the British boy who went missing on holiday in Spain 6 years ago, and then found in France is super weird. Quote The owners of a French farmhouse where British teenager Alex Batty stayed during his years missing abroad have spoken about his time living there. Alex left home in Oldham, Greater Manchester, with his mother and grandfather for a holiday in Spain in 2017, but then disappeared. Now 17, he returned to the UK on Saturday after walking alone for days in the French Pyrenees to find help. The gite owners said Alex, who they knew as Zach, was "part of our family". He is thought to have stayed there, on and off, over the last two years. French authorities have described Alex's relatives' lifestyle as nomadic, with the family travelling from Morocco to Spain and then on to France. The Gite de la Bastide is one of a handful of stone houses that make up part of a small hamlet nestling in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Posting on their website on Sunday, the owners of the property, Frederic Hambye and Ingrid Beauve, said Alex did odd jobs in return for food and accommodation. The couple said they would take him on outings throughout the summer, including cycling and trips to the beach and nearby river. While his mother did not live there, Alex "left several times" to join her, they said - adding that the last time he came back to the gite was early this summer. They said he voiced a desire to "return to a normal life" so they helped him find a place at a school, but learned that he needed official identification which he did not possess. Soon afterwards, they said he told them of his intention to return to the UK to get the identity documents he needed to enrol in a local French school to study computer science. The couple said when he left, he told them he was going to join his mother. They told him he "would always be welcome" and "if needed, we were there to help him", adding: "We wish him the best of luck." Greater Manchester Police said they needed to fully establish the circumstances surrounding his disappearance before deciding whether to mount a criminal investigation. Definitely more to this than meets the eye link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted December 18, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 18, 2023 44 minutes ago, Genie said: The story about the British boy who went missing on holiday in Spain 6 years ago, and then found in France is super weird. Definitely more to this than meets the eye link Seems like a bit of storm in a teacup to me. His mum took him off to live in a series of hippy communes. He got fed up with it and decided he wanted to come back and live a more conventional life. This is not a McCann-style mystery. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 (edited) 7 minutes ago, mjmooney said: Seems like a bit of storm in a teacup to me. His mum took him off to live in a series of hippy communes. He got fed up with it and decided he wanted to come back and live a more conventional life. This is not a McCann-style mystery. He’s been separated from his family for 6 years hasn’t he? and then there’s a French family where he would apparently go to periodically and work for them for food/shelter. Edited December 18, 2023 by Genie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted December 18, 2023 Moderator Share Posted December 18, 2023 2 minutes ago, Genie said: He’s been separated from his family for 6 years hasn’t he? Which family? He's been with his mother and grandfather and not his grandmother. His mother and grandfather are obviously hippie basket cases which is why the grandmother is his legal guardian but it's not like there's any suggestion he's been abused (apart from the odd jobs for food and lodging) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 I think this is a case for filing in the sad but mundane folder. Kid taken out of the country and not returned. An everyday tale with a bit of detail around hippies and communes, rather than dad disappearing the kid in to Turkey or Tunisia or Texas or wherever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 3 minutes ago, bickster said: Which family? He's been with his mother and grandfather and not his grandmother. His mother and grandfather are obviously hippie basket cases which is why the grandmother is his legal guardian but it's not like there's any suggestion he's been abused (apart from the odd jobs for food and lodging) I didn’t say he was abused, it’s just a very odd situation and it doesn’t quite add up yet (to me at least). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted December 18, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 18, 2023 There doesn't seem to be anything too weird about the story. His mother and grandad went deep off the hippie new age bullshit diving board, absconded with him to go live in a nomadic hippie community that travelled between Morocco and France, he as he got older would occasionally step away from the community to do odd jobs for food and board with someone local to wherever he was. Finally he decided he'd had enough and decided to leave entirely and go home. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted December 18, 2023 Moderator Share Posted December 18, 2023 41 minutes ago, Genie said: I didn’t say he was abused I didn't say you did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 14 minutes ago, Chindie said: There doesn't seem to be anything too weird about the story. His mother and grandad went deep off the hippie new age bullshit diving board, absconded with him to go live in a nomadic hippie community that travelled between Morocco and France, he as he got older would occasionally step away from the community to do odd jobs for food and board with someone local to wherever he was. Finally he decided he'd had enough and decided to leave entirely and go home. Perfectly normal behaviour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted December 18, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 18, 2023 1 minute ago, Genie said: Perfectly normal behaviour There's a difference between something being normal and something unusual but understandable. You seem to suggest there's something nefarious that isn't being reported when the reality as it appears currently is fairly straightforward, if 'not the norm' for the vast majority of people. The kid got kidnapped by his mental mother and granddad, to go live a hippie nomad lifestyle off the grid, as he got older he would step away from the community for periods and ended up doing odd jobs for board, eventually he decides he's had enough. While that's not the lifestyle of most people, there's nothing in that that screams 'that's not the whole story' to me. Occasionally people do abscond with their kids, there's been a history of weird hippie communities across the globe that attract people wanting 'alternative lifestyles' and it's been known for many years that groups of that type have been in the Morocco and Spain/French border regions, there's long been the trope of the wayward teen that jumps between towns/homes/acquaintances due to the trouble at home etc where in rural communities they might end up doing labouring work for board. And I can certainly see why a 17yo might think '**** all this shit' when your mental mother decides the next place for enlightenment is Finland. In December. When you've lived near the Med for 6 years. And the hippie lifestyle hasn't exactly been great for you when you've ended up doing labouring for food and a roof. Normal? No. But I don't see why that story is missing something or is 'weird', or has much to be suspicious about. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Chindie said: Normal? No. But I don't see why that story is missing something or is 'weird', or has much to be suspicious about. As it stands the only facts are the ones from the people in France, if there was any wrong doing, crimes, abuse, abduction, etc going on obviously they wouldn’t be offering it up. It would be silly to resign this to being a bit of a non-event based on what is available so far. I’m sure given time a more independent view of what has been going on for 6 years will emerge. Greater Manchester police have stated they will fully establish the circumstances before deciding whether to mount a criminal investigation. As it stands it’s a VERY unusual set of circumstances. It may turn out to be nothing, but you can’t conclude that from what is known so far. Edited December 18, 2023 by Genie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted December 18, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 18, 2023 4 minutes ago, Genie said: As it stands the only facts are the ones from the people in France, if there was any wrong doing, crimes, abuse, abduction, etc going on obviously they wouldn’t be offering it up. It would be silly to resign this to being a bit of a non-event based on what is available so far. I’m sure given time a more independent view of what has been going on for 6 years will emerge. Greater Manchester police have stated they will fully establish the circumstances before deciding whether to mount a criminal investigation. As it stands it’s a VERY unusual set of circumstances. What do you think is not being said? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seat68 Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 The whole grandad being dead, not dead was a little odd, but not worthy of a headline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Chindie said: What do you think is not being said? We’ll have to hear the detailed account from the boy about what was going on in this cult type setup, and the family members. We can’t just assume nothing untoward happened because the locals at the centre of the very unusual living arrangement said so. Edited December 18, 2023 by Genie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted December 18, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 18, 2023 20 minutes ago, Genie said: We’ll have to hear the detailed account from the boy about what was going on in this cult type setup, and the family members. We can’t just assume nothing untoward happened because the locals at the centre of the very unusual living arrangement said so. I don't think anyone is assuming anything, but it's weird to immediately go 'definitely something dodgy' when the story isn't that bizarre. The story makes sense. I mean the kid could be a rabid child rapist but there's nothing to make us think that so why would we immediately be suspicious about it? I just don't understand the thinking there's something dodgy when we've got the basic story and it's one that adds up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted December 18, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 18, 2023 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 19 minutes ago, Chindie said: I don't think anyone is assuming anything, but it's weird to immediately go 'definitely something dodgy' when the story isn't that bizarre. The story makes sense. I mean the kid could be a rabid child rapist but there's nothing to make us think that so why would we immediately be suspicious about it? I just don't understand the thinking there's something dodgy when we've got the basic story and it's one that adds up. Let the police know not to waste any time on it then. It all checks out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted December 18, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted December 18, 2023 Just now, Genie said: Let the police know not to waste any time on it then. It all checks out. The police are investigating because he was kidnapped. They've been investigating since he disappeared. That's part of the story. Its accepted as known. You seem to be suggesting there's something else to it though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seat68 Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 Makes me wonder, if the mother and grandfather ran off to join a cult, sorry, spiritual commune, are there any good cults? Cults tend to get bad press, cult is used as a pejorative term, is there any such thing as a good cult? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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