Inside Garden of Eden community where Alex Batty’s mother Melanie lived before she mysteriously vanished: Eco-conscious group live in tents and ramshackle huts and hold festivals through the summer
Photos reveal life in the Garden of Eden 'spiritual community' in southern France where Alex Batty's fugitive mother is said to have lived – just a few miles from where the 'kidnapped' British teenager was found after six years.
Melanie Batty, 43, is said to have joined the community in late summer after it emerged in February this year at an abandoned campsite just a short drive from Chalabre, Aude.
The property was purchased by about 50 members of the 'Conscience Verte' (Green Conscious) association, who cleared the farmland to hold festivals throughout the summer and moved into tents and dilapidated huts on the 43-hectare site.
About five miles away, a cafe owner in Chalabre claims he served Melanie, who he knew as “Rose,” along with Alex and his grandfather David, last Saturday.
It comes amid claims that 17-year-old Alex told French police officers that his mother had gone to Finland because she “wanted to see the Northern Lights”, something residents have denied.
Alex Batty, who went missing at the age of 11 and is now 17, with his mother Melanie and grandfather David
The association 'Conscience Verte' (Green Conscious) has cleared the land to hold festivals and parties all summer long
A tent in the woods in the 'Garden of Eden' 'spiritual community' near Chalabre, Aude
The site features huts, as photos show, purchased by an 'environmentally conscious' group
In one of the tents in the 'Garden of Eden' community, which was set up on 43 hectares of farmland
Spread over 43 hectares of farmland, 'L'Eden', where Melanie is believed to have stayed under the name Rose, has flower meadows, woodlands and a river running through it.
Tents, tepees and huts dot the rolling hills and horses, dogs and cats roam around whenever they please.
A British expat, who has lived in Chalabre for more than 20 years, said: 'I know Rose and her family. She is not in Finland as claimed in the press.
“Rose lived in the 'Garden of Eden' community. There are many festivals throughout the summer and she went there often.
'She came to live there at the end of the summer, early October I would think. She lived there until about a month ago. She left when the weather turned bad. She rented a room in a friend's house.
“Rose actually only got here a few days ago. She finally left the area on Saturday morning. She didn't feel safe with all the media attention.
“I don't know where she went.”
Two members of the 'Conscience Verte' association refused to discuss the whereabouts of 'Rose' – Melanie Batty – when approached in the 'Garden of Eden' community.
One man said: 'I don't know any English woman called Rose. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you.'
A sign indicating where the 'Garden of Eden' community is located. The settlement is covered with forests and flower meadows
A man who does woodwork in the 'spiritual community' where Melanie Batty is said to live
Horses and other animals are said to roam freely in the community, which is an abandoned campsite
The 'Garden of Eden' community was created in February this year on an old campsite about eight kilometers from Chalabre, Aude.
Tents, tepees and huts dot the rolling hills and horses, dogs and cats roam around whenever they please
French researchers are said to have been working on the theory that his mother Melanie had recently left France without Alex to go to Finland to see the Northern Lights – while his grandfather David is said to have died six months ago.
But now the owner of Café des Sports in south-west France is telling how he is certain he saw Alex with mother Melanie and grandfather David enjoying a drink on his terrace as a family on Saturday afternoon, December 9.
This was just four days before he was picked up by a truck driver in the early hours of Wednesday, December 13, as he walked along a country road south of Toulouse in pouring rain.
Valentin Petrini (pictured), 46, owner of Café des Sports in Chalabre, Aude, said: 'The boy, Alex, was here about ten days ago with his mother and grandfather'
Barmaid Viviane Petrini, who said she saw teenager Alex Batty at her cafe in Chalabre, France, with his mother and grandfather, just days before he was picked up by a French truck driver
The cafe in Chalabre, France, where the owner claims to have seen British teenager Alex Batty with his mother Melanie and grandfather
The café is located in Chalabre, Aude, approximately 30 miles from the Gite farm where Alex Batty lived with his grandfather.
The cafe is located a few kilometers from the country road where the teenager was picked up by the truck driver in the middle of the night.
A member of the spiritual community 'The Garden of Eden'
Valentin Petrini, 46, owner of Café des Sports, in Chalabre, Aude, said: 'The boy, Alex, was here about ten days ago with his mother and grandfather. it must have been last Saturday, in the afternoon, say about 2:30 p.m.
“They come in every now and then. The mother, Rose, comes in to charge her phone and use the WiFi.
“She was here with her son, who we knew as Zach, and her father, Peter.
'Rose likes to drink coffee.
'I've met them several times.
'Rose introduced me to her father Peter. He is a wood craftsman. They showed me pictures of his work and said he could make any repairs needed. His work looked good, but honestly, I can do that myself too.
'He seemed nice. He only drank non-alcoholic beer, Heineken Blauw. He said he was following the path of Jesus.
'After that conversation, the three of them sat down on the terrace. It was a nice day. Zach drank a Coke.
“Like everyone else here, I had no idea the boy had been kidnapped by his own mother and that the family was on the run. They seemed happy together.
'Rose used to live on the lake, outside the village. I have a little bar there and I'd love to see her there.
'In the summer the boy went there to swim in the lake and cycle.
Alex, from Oldham, was 11 when he failed to return from a holiday to Spain in 2017 with his mother Melanie, then 37, and grandfather David, then 58.
“At the end of the summer, Rose left that campground and went to live at an alternative community near here.”
Barmaid Viviane Petrini added: 'English Rose was here last Saturday with her father and her son Zach. I served them.”
Alex Batty disappeared six years ago when he failed to return to Britain after a pre-arranged trip to Spain with mother Melanie and grandfather David.
Greater Manchester Police issued a missing persons alert for the youngster, who was aged 11 at the time.
Alex Batty (pictured left) with his mother Melanie (centre) and grandfather David (right) six years ago
Alex, now 17, was reunited with his grandmother Susan Caruana, who is his legal guardian, in Oldham on Saturday evening.
Since the autumn of 2021, he has been living with his grandfather, who worked as a handyman, in a remote farm in the hamlet of La Bastide.
He was cared for by the French family who owned the farm and was considered part of the family.
But Alex wanted to return to Britain to get identity documents so he could study computer science at school.
Greater Manchester Police are currently considering whether to launch a criminal investigation into his disappearance.