Belgian couple share photos of Alex Paty, teenager who has been missing for six years, in their home: ‘He helped us in exchange for shelter and food’ | outside

The British teenager was found last week by a courier in the French Pyrenees. He wandered for at least four days. Patty, who is from near Manchester, was kidnapped by his “unstable” mother Melanie and grandfather to Spain in 2017. He was then under the guardianship of his grandmother Susan, who left her with many questions. His mother and grandfather then took him to Morocco and France, where he grew up in a “spiritual community.”

Ingrid and Fred, a Belgian couple with a home in Camps-sur-l’Agly, France, say Alex Paty — whom they know as “Zach” — stayed with them for a while in the fall of 2021. “Work in the garden and kitchen in exchange for shelter,” the couple said in a press release. And food.” “On Sundays he would go to the market with us. He was part of our family and got along well with our children. We enjoyed our time together the following summer. We went cycling together, visited the beach and spent time by the river.

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He has stayed with us several times, for longer and shorter periods. He visited his mother several times, who lived between Uday and Ariege. We hardly had any contact with her. For all we know, she was looking for a community to be a part of. No Bastide is not a spiritual group.

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The couple says last summer was the last time Paty stayed in La Bastide. “We think he appreciated the stability and security of our family. He had his own room, access to the Internet, and was completely free to come and go as he pleased. We encouraged him to learn and study the French language.”

Patty followed the couple’s advice and found a school he could start at. He was happy to go to school and return to normal life. He told us he needed an ID card, but he no longer had it. We suggested taking him to the British Consulate. He told us he found his own way back to England to get papers so he could go back to school. We left on December 17th. We stressed that he was always welcome and that we wanted to help him. “We found out his full story in the media last week.”

The couple wishes Patty all the best in his future life. The boy has now returned to his grandmother in the UK. Police will now speak to the teenager to find out what happened to him and determine whether to open a criminal investigation.