The priest defrocked by the Archdiocese of Mobile earlier this week has been located in Italy, according to a release from the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office Saturday, which also said investigators found no reason to believe anything criminal had transpired.

Alex Crow and an 18-year-old woman were found in Italy by a family member of the young woman who had traveled there to locate her. The young woman indicated she had accompanied Crow of her own accord.

“It appeared they were staying in separate bedrooms,” Sheriff Paul Burch said, “and the young woman insisted there was no intimate relationship. The investigation is still open and we are still checking into a few matters, however, there does not appear to be any (grounds for) criminal charges.”

Crow left behind a letter with the Archdiocese indicating he would never return to America. As of Saturday, he and the young woman remained in Italy.

Crow had served in the Archdiocese since being ordained in June 2021, most recently as the Parochial Vicar at Corpus Christi Parish, until Wednesday when the Archdiocese issued a statement saying Crow had been stripped of his duties in the wake of his departure for Europe with the young woman, purportedly a recent graduate of McGill-Toolen High School, Crow’s alma mater.

“Fr. Crow abandoned his assignment in the Archdiocese,” the statement read. “His behavior is totally unbecoming of a priest. He has been informed by the archbishop that he may no longer exercise ministry as a priest, nor to tell people he is a priest, nor to dress as a priest.”

Much of Crow’s theological background involved the study of demonology and exorcism, with Crow saying in a 2022 podcast a “minor exorcism” had been performed on him by a priest several years ago. Crow wrote a thesis on demonology and exorcism while in seminary.

There had been rampant speculation Crow and the young woman were traveling to the Spanish town of San Sebastian de Garabandal — where apparitions of Saint Michael the Archangel and Virgin Mary which reportedly appeared to four girls ages 11 and 12 from 1961 to 1965 — possibly for Crow to perform an exorcism on the young woman.

The release from the sheriff’s office, however, made no mention of Crow and the woman’s travel plans or the purpose of the trip.