Desperate search for teen tourist missing in mountains near Dracula’s Castle goes cold

A desperate hunt for a teenage tourist who went missing near Dracula’s Castle in Romania last year has gone cold, with rescue teams admitting a new search had turned up no clues.

British visitor George Smyth, 18, vanished on Nov. 23, 2025, while solo hiking through dense forests in the Bucegi Mountains in Transylvania.

A fresh search was recently launched after the snow covering the mountains finally melted enough to allow rescuers to access previously unreachable ground, but it provided no further signs of Smyth.

“Unfortunately, as a result of the operation, no clues or elements were identified that would lead to finding the missing young man,” said a spokesperson for local mountain rescue service Salvamont Brasov, BBC News reported.

Two or three narrow stretches in the mountains still have snow, and the search is expected to resume in those areas in the coming weeks when that snow melts, the rescue team said.

A public appeal has been issued for help.

“Please pay close attention to the route and its surroundings, and contact us immediately if you notice objects, tracks, or any other elements that may be connected to the missing person or that could help identify the area they may be in,” the spokesperson said.

Smyth went missing as he hiked toward Bran Castle, home to the fictional title character Count Dracula in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, “Dracula.”

His last known location was previously described as a “very isolated and hard-to-access mountain area” by rescue services.

Smyth left his accommodation at the University of Bristol in southwest England without telling his family before going on his solo hike in Romania.

He made a “distressing call” to emergency services in Romania shortly before disappearing, frantically telling operators he was exhausted, hypothermic, and unsure of his location, his mom previously told the Times of London.

Smyth’s family said in January they had come to accept he had died.

“When the mountains that took him are ready to let go, George will be found, and we will bring him home to say goodbye,” they said at the time.