An alarm has been raised in recent days in Romania following the disappearance of a British student who was hiking in the mountains near Count Dracula’s castle.

More specifically, according to the Times, 18-year-old George Smith had gone into the dense forests of Romania’s Bucegi Mountains and was heading toward the village of Bran, where Bran Castle is located—widely associated with the myth of Count Dracula—when he suddenly vanished.

On November 23, the student called Romania’s emergency hotline, saying he was exhausted, hypothermic, and didn’t know where he was.

Rescue operations began after the phone call, but so far they have proven fruitless.

Rescue teams believe the teenager started his hike from the town of Poiana Brașov and ended up about 16 to 24 km away, in the Țigănești Valley, from where he called for help. His personal belongings were found at that location.

Poiana Brașov and Bran are connected by forest trails that climb steeply into alpine areas, which can become particularly dangerous when temperatures drop.

Depending on his exact location, George still had 19 to 30 km to cover in order to reach Bran Castle.

After many days of searching, rescuers managed to find only his backpack in the area from which he had called for help.

George’s mother described her son as “a sporty and strong young man,” known for traveling frequently with family and friends, but said that this trip was different.

“He left his university in the United Kingdom on Sunday without telling us, to go hiking alone,” she told the Times.

“His phone last had signal in a remote mountainous area. He made a distress call to 112 [Romania’s emergency hotline] on Sunday night,” said the worried mother.

Weather conditions and heavy snowfall in the area have hindered efforts to locate the missing Smith. Rescuers emphasize that in some of the areas they have searched, snow depth often exceeds 1.8 meters.

A Black Hawk helicopter, which can reach remote parts of the mountains, detection dogs, and a drone with thermal imaging are contributing to efforts to locate the young man.

Winter in the Bucegi Mountains is extremely dangerous, with sudden weather changes, deep snow, icy trails, and unstable snow layers that can disorient hikers.

During winter, temperatures in the mountains usually range from 0 to 4°C.