Romania - George Smyth, 18,’called emergency services, saying he was exhausted & suffering from hypothermia’ snowy mountains of Romania, 23 Nov 2025

[StillDiggin]

A DESPERATE search is underway for a British teenager who vanished in the snowy mountains around Dracula’s Castle in Romania more than a week ago.

George Smyth, 18, left university for the hiking trip without telling his family and was last heard from when he call emergency services for help – saying he was exhausted and suffering from hypothermia.
His mum, Jo, flew out to Romania as soon as she heard the news from the Salvamont Brasov rescue service on Friday night.

Jo said: “He left his university in the United Kingdom on Sunday without telling us, to go hiking alone.

“His phone last had signal in a remote mountain area. He made a distressing call to 112 on Sunday evening.

“The teams found his backpack in the same place from where he called for help within a few hours.

Brit, 18, missing near Dracula’s Castle for a WEEK after ‘calling for help'

A DESPERATE search is underway for a British teenager who vanished in the snowy mountains around Dracula’s Castle in Romania over a week ago. Uni student George Smyth, 18, left for the solo h…

www.thesun.co.uk

 

[Hexe]

A DESPERATE search is underway for a British teenager who vanished in the snowy mountains around Dracula’s Castle in Romania more than a week ago.

The castle in question is Bran which despite being advertised as Dracula's castle has nothing to do with historical Vlad Dracula who never set his foot in there. The castles that can be tied to him are the main residence of Valachian rulers in Tîrgoviște, sumner residence in București and Poienari Castle built on his order. Excuse me for that digression, but Bran's marketing is one of my pet peeves.

The mountain range is called Bucegi and is a part of Southern Carpathians. They might be not the tallest, Omu, the highest peak has 2,505 m (8,219 ft), but the climate is pretty harsh, so I am not surprised George was talking about hypothermia. He set from Poiana Brașov, intending to walk to Brasov castle, but it seems he was attempting to take the shorter route across the mountains, instead of going by flatter land, through Rasnov and Tohana Nou.

The problem is I cannot find any marked trail that would cover all the route from Poiana Brașov to Bran, so I guess George went off the trail. Which is a bad idea, same for going to hike solo without telling anyone what route you take.

 

[GraceG]

This article states that he was hiking towards the Village of Bran and sent his last call after reaching the Tiganesti Valley, Searchers found his backpack hours later but conditions worsened. From the photos it looks pretty trecherous even for experienced alpine technical hikers/searchers. Mysterious final call of British teenager who vanished near Dracula's Castle

 

[LadyL]

another article - apparently he is wearing the same jacket as in the photo - doesn't look warm enough to me for a hike in snowy mountains also, his parents found his phone and rescuers found his backpack in the place where he had called from 'within a few hours' so it seems he gave up on waiting for help and moved on (maybe confused and delirious?)

In a first for local rescue operations, Salvamont Brasov even deployed a Black Hawk helicopter to fly intervention teams quickly to the most inaccessible parts of the massif.

A drone equipped with a thermal imaging camera was also used as teams with sniffer dogs retraced George's route.

MSN

 

[GraceG]

another article - apparently he is wearing the same jacket as in the photo - doesn't look warm enough to me for a hike in snowy mountains also, his parents found his phone and rescuers found his backpack in the place where he had called from 'within a few hours' so it seems he gave up on waiting for help and moved on (maybe confused and delirious?)

In a first for local rescue operations, Salvamont Brasov even deployed a Black Hawk helicopter to fly intervention teams quickly to the most inaccessible parts of the massif.

A drone equipped with a thermal imaging camera was also used as teams with sniffer dogs retraced George's route.

MSN

That jacket was pretty lightweight, great for wind but not for a snowstorm, IMO. The thermal imaging won't help if he's no longer alive or built a snow cave ( because the snow is too thick to allow infrared radiation to penetrate) but I think if he had the mental accuity (given the hypothermia) to do that, he'd not have left his rucksack with equipment.

Dogs and scent trails in the cold present challenges. The article didn't specifiy what "sniffer dogs" they were using, there are commonly two types, air scent dogs and tracker dogs. Airscent dogs detect airborne scent over large areas, while tracking dogs follow one person’s specific trail from their last known location. Then there are also mountain SAR and avalanche dogs which have their own unique skill set.

I've never handled a SAR dog, but we've worked in the field with them as they were used to find plane crash victims not found at the scene (injured and/or burned and disoriented or tried to hike out for help in rough conditions).

As a general rule, cold weather keeps scent particles closer to the ground, making it easier for dogs to follow a trail. However, in very low temperatures, scent particles can freeze, slowing the rate of evaporation and making the trail more difficult for the dog to detect. Snow is another factor all by itself. Fresh snow can trap scent particles (scent loves the fluffy snow), preserving the trail longer. But as snow melts or compacts, it alters the scent dynamics as melting snow releases the scent particles which then spread and create a broader, less defined trail.

Frozen snow or ice, as well, can lock scent particles in place, making it more difficult for dogs to access them. Picture tring to sniff something through a sealed jar, It's difficult, not impossible, but very difficult - that's what it is like for the dogs.

 

[iamshadow21]

another article - apparently he is wearing the same jacket as in the photo - doesn't look warm enough to me for a hike in snowy mountains also, his parents found his phone and rescuers found his backpack in the place where he had called from 'within a few hours' so it seems he gave up on waiting for help and moved on (maybe confused and delirious?)

In a first for local rescue operations, Salvamont Brasov even deployed a Black Hawk helicopter to fly intervention teams quickly to the most inaccessible parts of the massif.

A drone equipped with a thermal imaging camera was also used as teams with sniffer dogs retraced George's route.

MSN

I suspect that they'll find him relatively close to the backpack, but maybe not until spring.

MOO

 

[LadyL]

That jacket was pretty lightweight, great for wind but not for a snowstorm, IMO. The thermal imaging won't help if he's no longer alive or built a snow cave ( because the snow is too thick to allow infrared radiation to penetrate) but I think if he had the mental accuity (given the hypothermia) to do that, he'd not have left his rucksack with equipment.

Dogs and scent trails in the cold present challenges. The article didn't specifidy what "sniffer dogs" they were using, there are commonly two types, air scent dogs and tracker dogs. Airscent dogs detect airborne scent over large areas, while tracking dogs follow one person’s specific trail from their last known location. Then there are also mountain SAR and avalanche dogs which have their own unique skill set.

I've never handled a SAR dog, but we've worked in the field with them as they were used to find plane crash victims not found at the scene (injured and/or burned and disoriented or tried to hike out for help in rough conditions).

As a general rule, cold weather keeps scent particles closer to the ground, making it easier for dogs to follow a trail. However, in very low temperatures, scent particles can freeze, slowing the rate of evaporation and making the trail more difficult for the dog to detect. Snow is another factor all by itself. Fresh snow can trap scent particles (scent loves the fluffy snow), preserving the trail longer. But as snow melts or compacts, it alters the scent dynamics as melting snow releases the scent particles which then spread and create a broader, less defined trail.

Frozen snow or ice, as well, can lock scent particles in place, making it more difficult for dogs to access them. Picture tring to sniff something through a sealed jar, It's difficult, not impossible, but very difficult - that's what it is like for the dogs.

very interesting - thanks for sharing your expertise

 

[Serononin]

Oh Jesus, nothing about this situation sounds good. I hope his family have plenty of support

 

[KBlackRabbit]

Oof. He’s lost in the mountains without proper clothing and he discarded his gear. Unfortunately I don’t think this will end well. If he somehow survived the first night he probably didn’t survive the second.

 

[StillDiggin]

At least George has more media attention now

Searches for Newport rugby player missing in Romanian mountains

His rugby club says its thoughts are with him, family and friends in this "incredibly worrying time".

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Hexe]

At least George has more media attention now

Searches for Newport rugby player missing in Romanian mountains

His rugby club says its thoughts are with him, family and friends in this "incredibly worrying time".

www.bbc.co.uk

Beebs got a bit confused with geography, let's clear it out before someone starts to wonder how this kid ended up at the other side of the mountains. Well, he did not.

They claim George called for help from Țigănești, which is not exactly true. As it was said he called for help from the shores of the lake. Lake Țigănești (Lacul Țigănești), a small mountain lake, southwest from Brașov, southeast from the Bran castle. It's pretty high up, 2050 m (6726 ft) above the sea level.

Technically you can walk from Poiana Brașov to Bran passing Lacul Țigănești, but it is a long route, eleven hours with good weather, so definitely not one you would do in one day, especially not in winter, with limited daylight. I suspect George got lost and veered into the high mountains while not being prepared for it.

 

[iulia]

There is an interesting piece of information of Salvamont Brasov’s FB page. It is in a reply they gave to ANP on November 30.

Translated with Google:
“Good evening. The person was directed to return on the road to Mălăiești on the route taken to that place, to meet with the mountain rescuers and not to stay in one place, considering the weather and the fact that he did not mention to us that he had equipment. In the backpack found, he had exactly what you mentioned: bag, primus, thermos. Our colleague also sent the caller a photo of the return route and a GPX file.”

https://www.facebook.com/SalvamontBrasov/posts/pfbid0szeZHNgJ7D1xyS42nNmaZWeTKHspRYUFxAM59nEAcohdUsAJdPQeAqwmS4opHb4Pl

So George was advised to retrace his steps rather than stay put and wait for help to arrive. I remember seeing on the local news a video from the searches, the weather was really bad, in about 10 minutes the rescuers’ footprints were no longer visible. Poor George.

This reminds me of the movie “The father who moves mountains”, based on a true story of a young couple who went missing in the Bucegi Mountains back in 2008.

 

[Hexe]

Looks like he completely lost his head... And the map. He was some two kilometers from a tourist lodge and a mountain rescue station, when he called 112.

 

[BOBON]

I wonder if this was a trip he had planned for a while or if it was a spontaneous idea. The article made it sound like he just booked a flight and went for a hike on the weekend without telling anyone, which might also give us an idea of his mindset

 

[justtrish]

There is an interesting piece of information of Salvamont Brasov’s FB page. It is in a reply they gave to ANP on November 30.

Translated with Google:
“Good evening. The person was directed to return on the road to Mălăiești on the route taken to that place, to meet with the mountain rescuers and not to stay in one place, considering the weather and the fact that he did not mention to us that he had equipment. In the backpack found, he had exactly what you mentioned: bag, primus, thermos. Our colleague also sent the caller a photo of the return route and a GPX file.”

https://www.facebook.com/SalvamontBrasov/posts/pfbid0szeZHNgJ7D1xyS42nNmaZWeTKHspRYUFxAM59nEAcohdUsAJdPQeAqwmS4opHb4Pl

So George was advised to retrace his steps rather than stay put and wait for help to arrive. I remember seeing on the local news a video from the searches, the weather was really bad, in about 10 minutes the rescuers’ footprints were no longer visible. Poor George.

This reminds me of the movie “The father who moves mountains”, based on a true story of a young couple who went missing in the Bucegi Mountains back in 2008.

Wow if this is true, this is tragic. I don't recall every hearing anyone tell someone who was lost to move from the location they are at (unless it would be a very unsafe location to remain in until help arrives). If the person you are searching for is moving around, then rescuers and the person could just keep missing each other. Then when we add in he could have been suffering from hypothermia and mentally doing things that make no sense, it is just reckless for them to ask him to go somewhere else. Now they find his bag, which would have been with him if he was advised to stay where he was.

 

[iulia]

Wow if this is true, this is tragic. I don't recall every hearing anyone tell someone who was lost to move from the location they are at (unless it would be a very unsafe location to remain in until help arrives). If the person you are searching for is moving around, then rescuers and the person could just keep missing each other. Then when we add in he could have been suffering from hypothermia and mentally doing things that make no sense, it is just reckless for them to ask him to go somewhere else. Now they find his bag, which would have been with him if he was advised to stay where he was.

Salvamont said that at least twice in the comments, so it is probably true IMO. Also, they said they weren’t able to use drones that night and the next day because of the extreme fog and high winds. I wonder if they would have advised him to move if they had known George had equipment with him to keep him warm until their arrival.

66K views · 1K reactions | Salvamontiștii din cadrul Serviciului Județean Salvamont Brașov recomandă evitarea tuturor traseelor montane situate la altitudini de peste 1800 m, întrucât stratul de zăpadă, riscul de avalanșă și condițiile meteorologice

Salvamontiștii din cadrul Serviciului Județean Salvamont Brașov recomandă evitarea tuturor traseelor montane situate la altitudini de peste 1800 m, întrucât stratul de zăpadă, riscul de avalanșă și...

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ETA: There is a considerable risk of avalanches in the area so I think the search is suspended.