A British teen by the name of George Smyth has vanished after going on a solo hike in Romania, near Bran Castle, the location suggested to be the home of the infamous vampire, Dracula.
Smyth, who is 18 years old, made a call to the Romanian emergency services on November 23 after he began to suffer from hypothermia and exhaustion while on a hike in the country. He had left earlier that day to trek the Bucegi mountains but soon found himself to be in a dire situation alone in the icy wilderness.
As per Independent, mountain rescuers soon reached the area from which the call was made only to find a rucksack containing equipment and supplies belonging to Smyth. Unfortunately the teen was nowhere to be found and so the search continued, now, well over a week later, things have gotten desperate as it seems increasingly unlikely that Smyth could have survived for so long while exposed to the elements.
The search for George Smyth continues
The Salvamont Brasov rescue service issued an appeal for information and circulated a photo of Smyth in the hopes that somebody would come forward with anything that might aid in finding the missing teen. George’s mother, Jo Smyth, has also flown out to Transylvania to do what she can to help the search. She claims that George left without informing anyone that he was going hiking alone.
Smyth set out from the neighborhood of Poiana Brasov on Sunday morning, and began making his way to Bran, a village with a castle that has been marketed as the castle which was home to Dracula (although there is no evidence Bram Stoker ever visited this castle). 20 mountain rescuers scoured the surrounding area but only found the backpack which contained a sleeping bag, a tent, and some food.
Whatever Smyth’s intentions were, it seems he was planning on spending some time out in the wild. However, it’s likely that he underestimated just how harsh the cold weather would be while on his hike. It’s also unclear why he moved from where he made the initial call, and why he didn’t take his backpack with him.
The rescue team have also employed the use of thermal imaging cameras, sniffer dogs, and even a black hawk helicopter in the hopes of finding the young man. Unfortunately their efforts have been in vain so far.
At the time of writing, George Smyth has been missing for nine days with the weather conditions only getting more and more inhospitable. The weather is so bad it’s hindered the rescue operation as those searching the area for George have to deal with up to 2 meters of snow.
Published: Dec 2, 2025 01:45 pm