Rescuers 'have not given up' on missing teen search

A mountain rescue team in Romania has not given up on search efforts to find a Shropshire teenager who went missing while hiking.

University of Bristol student George Smyth, from Newport, has been missing in the Bucegi Mountains since 23 November, Brașov mountain rescue said.

It is thought he left Poiana Brașov that morning and reached the Tiganesti area, where he used an emergency number to ask for support. His family said he had not told them he was making the trip.

In an update at the weekend, the rescue team said conditions were still too poor in the Valea Gigănesti to resume the search for Smyth, but the operation was continuing.

"We would like to clarify that the mountain rescuers are constantly monitoring the situation in the field and have not given up on this search operation," it said in a post on Facebook.

"Unfortunately, the situation on the ground remains difficult. The snow layer is still very large, heavily moist and unstable, and in some areas travel is extremely difficult, with sinks up to about a metre or more.

"Under these conditions, resuming searches is not possible at this moment. In the coming period, depending on changing weather conditions and changing ground conditions, mountain rescuers will return to the area for further checks, and as soon as the situation allows, search operations will resume."

In December Sebastian Marinescu, from the rescue team, said that when the emergency call from Smyth was received, he was "disoriented, physically exhausted, and already showing signs of hypothermia".

He said his location was in a "very isolated and hard-to-access mountain area" and the weather conditions "were extremely severe with strong winds, heavy snowfall, and dense fog".

Mr Smyth was advised to turn back along the same route and keep moving to avoid falling asleep through hypothermia, but it seems he did not follow the advice.

In January, Smyth's family said it was "cruel beyond belief" but they now had to accept he was lost to them.

"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.

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