18-year-old still missing 9 days later after going on solo hike near 'Dracula’s castle'

An 18-year-old man has been missing for nine days while out on a solo trip in Romania.

George Smyth had been on a solo trip in the Bucegi Mountains in the Transylvania region of Romania, near Bran Castle, which is known as 'Dracula's Castle'.

The 18-year-old, from the UK, put out a call to mountain rescue services on 23 November.

His mom Jo, who has now flown out to Transylvania, where her son had been hiking, has since said that he had left his university to go on a solo hiking trip without informing his family.

A search has since been launched by authorities in Romania, but has been hampered by difficult weather conditions in the region since George went missing.

During the distress call to mountain rescue, George shared alarming information with the authorities.

Bran Castle, known as 'Dracula's Castle' (DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images)

George, who is a student at the University of Bristol student, told rescuers that he was suffering from exhaustion and hypothermia, and requested aid from the mountain rescue team.

Jo has spoken out to local news outlets, including Metro, about the ongoing search and what has been found since her son went missing.

She said: “His phone last had signal in a remote mountain area. He made a distressing call to 112 [Romania’s emergency line] on Sunday evening. The teams found his backpack in the same place from where he called for help within a few hours.”

Jo went on to describe her son as 'a sporty and strong young man,' and explained that he 'travelled a lot with us and friends,' according to The Times.

The contents of George's backpack indicate that he came prepared for a hike, as it contained equipment and food.

Sebastian Marinescu, director of Salvamont Brasov, told local news outlets: “The backpack had quite a lot of equipment in it - a sleeping bag, a tent. My colleagues even found food all around."

The Bucegi Mountains in Romania (Gavriel Jecan/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

He added: "So we don’t understand what happened and where he could have gone.”

Officials shared a photo of George since his disappearance on 28 November to assist with the search.

They explained that when he was last seen, George was wearing the jacket that he had on in that picture.

Zărnești Local Public Mountain Rescue Service have described 'two intense days' that they have spent looking for 'the young Englishman who went missing in Valea lezigăne seti'.

They later clarified that the operation had been delayed by the weather, writing: “Unfortunately, at the moment, the weather forecast for the next few days is an unfavorable one to resolve this case."