Originally appeared on E! Online
Alex Batty is ready to tell his story after disappearing six years ago.
The British teenager—who went missing at age 11 during a 2017 trip to Spain with his mom Melanie, 43, and grandfather, David, 64—offered insight into his situation a week after he was found hitchhiking in France on Dec. 13.
"I've been lying to try and protect my mum and grandad but I realize that they're probably gonna get caught anyway," Batty, 17, told The Sun in an interview published Dec. 21. "I didn't get lost. I knew exactly where I was going."
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Batty explained he decided to return to Britain because he grew tired of his unstable living conditions.
"I realized it wasn't a great way to live for my future," the teen noted. "Moving around. No friends, no social life. Working, working, work and not studying. That's the life I imagined I would be leading if I were to stay with my mum."
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Although Batty said his mom is a good person, he didn't praise her parenting skills.
"She's just not a great mom," he added. "Plain and simple, to be honest. She just doesn't do motherly things that you're supposed to do. She's not very warm and open. You can't really change her beliefs or anything and that's just a pain in the a to deal with."
Earlier this month, Batty was discovered in a mountainous area of southern France after a delivery driver spotted him walking alone in the rain with a flashlight.
The teenager told French investigators he spent the past few years traveling with his mother and grandfather as part of a "spiritual community" and decided go out on his own after his mom told him they were moving to Finland.
As for what made Batty follow through with his plans? He told The Sun he got into "a stupid argument" with his mom.
"I just had enough and thought, 'That's it, I'm leaving,'" he explained. "I wrote a note and said, 'Hey, Mom. I want you to know I love you very much. I'm very thankful for the life that you provided for me over the past few years.'"
His note continued, "'Don't worry about yourself. I'm sure you won't get found. Don't worry about me either. You know I can look after myself. I love you very much. Don't be angry with me. Love Alex.'"
At this time, Batty's mother and grandfather are wanted in connection with his disappearance, NBC News reported Dec. 14.
E! News has also reached out to Greater Manchester Police for additional updates and has not heard back.
While Melanie and David's whereabouts are currently unknown, Alex is back home with his grandmother Susan in Oldham, a town in Greater Manchester, England. She is now his legal guardian.
"The house is different now but still feels the same," Batty told The Sun. "The biggest difference is when I left I was a boy but now I'm 6 feet so I'm too big for the bed. It feels great to be back."
As for what's next? Batty is excited to continue his education.
"I understand a lot of French so I'm not going to let that go," he said. "I'm going to keep on studying. I want to do computer science or cyber security or blockchain development so I'm going to be very busy studying and catching up on things."
