‘It is snowing heavily here. But don’t worry, I’ll survive, you know’.
The harrowing last message a YouTuber sent to his grandmother before dying in a storm in Sweden has been revealed.
Storm De Beul was known for his YouTube channel StormOutdoorsy where he shared videos of his adventures in Northern Europe.
The 22-year-old had been trekking in northern Sweden when he was caught in a blizzard.
He was found dead in Lapland after spending much of the year hiking solo through the remote Jokkmokk region.
The Belgian creator sent a video to his friend, showing the wind whipping around his tent, as reported Belgian news outlet 7sur7.
Around 2am on October 29, Storm issued a distress signal to the Swedish emergency services, telling them he was wounded and needed medical help.
It is understood that he was attempting to return to his car, nine miles from where he had pitched his tent.
A rescue team was deployed in the early hours of the morning and Storm’s body was discovered somewhere along the route between the two points.
His mother, Elisabeth Rademaker, said: ‘Trees were uprooted that night. Maybe his tent also blew away and he had no choice but to start walking.
‘But it was -6°C, and because of the storm it even felt like -18°C. His feet and lower legs were frozen. His hands weren’t, he might still have had his hand warmers with him.
‘And since he had broken his nose, it’s possible he fell too. He must have suffered for a long time and died alone. I keep imagining his last moments. It devastates me.’
Elisabeth also described the moments before police confirmed her son’s death to her.
She said: ‘The local police officer called to say that there was a problem in Sweden. All day long, we hoped that they would find him alive.
‘In fact, they had already found him, but the news had not yet been passed on to our police. It was only a day later that we were informed.’
His father described Storm as someone ‘who had trouble connecting with people’ and ‘liked being alone,’ which is why he went on adventures in the nature with his little Peugeot 307.
He added: ‘His videos are a priceless legacy for us. But now his camera is there, somewhere in the snow, full of images from his very last trek.
‘I would love nothing more than to get it back.’
And his mother said her son learnt to survive by watching hours of videos like his on YouTube.
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