Fears have been raised a missing Australian hiker in Albania could have been mauled to death by a bear.
South Australian man Cameron Twiss, 28, was last seen on October 13 after setting off on a 17km trail between Valbona and Theth in the Albanian Alps, a popular and busy track for tourists.
Mr Twiss was reportedly travelling alone without a guide.
Police and Albania and Kosovo Mountain Search and Rescue Service volunteers spent two frustrating weeks searching on foot, and in helicopters and with drones for the missing Australians.
On Saturday, an Albania Search and Rescue Service volunteer said it was possible Mr Twiss could have been attacked by a brown bear.
Such attacks are extremely rare with only 200 of the predators still in the wild, but some of the animals are known to be in the vicinity of the track.
Tour guide Arben Kola told the Adelaide Advertiser he first thought Mr Twiss may have been disoriented at a complicated crossroads on the trail.
However, search and rescue teams have determined Mr Twiss had been following the correct path before he disappeared.
Cameron Twiss, 28, from Adelaide has gone missing while hiking a popular trail in Albania
‘It only adds to the mystery,’ Mr Kola said.
Mr Twiss is the second such mystery in two months, after a Lithuanian man disappeared on the path in September.
After the alarm was raised authorities discovered Mr Twiss’s belongings and passport in his hostel in the town of Shkoder.
Purnima Flanagan, a friend of Mr Twiss, has shared her final messages with the missing man.
In the last message sent,Mr Twiss said he was making vodka with a ‘random Albanian man’.
‘This was Cameron to a tee, he loves to talk and he loves to mingle,’ she said.
‘He was the perfect traveller and always made friends wherever he went.’
Ms Flanagan said Mr Twiss had set off on the Valbona trail with a group of tourists from the town but a short way into the hike decided to do it solo.
Kosovo Mountain Rescue Search Service and the Mountain Rescue Search Service of Albania have conducted a search on foot and with drones (pictured)
It was only after a number of her messages went unanswered that learnt he was missing.
‘I just don’t understand how no-one could have seen or heard anything. He would have made friends in that town, he was an experienced hiker and he was good with direction,’ she said.
Official search efforts were halted on November 3.
In the town of Theth, seasoned Dutch hikers Gido and Stella told The Advertiser they had seen missing persons flyers for both Mr Twiss and the Lithuanian traveller they became worried it was foul play
‘At first I was thinking, ‘Oh was there a kidnapping here’, or something like that,’ Stella said.
However, both hikers believed Mr Twiss likely just lost his footing.
‘I think it’s always dangerous in the mountains, especially when you’re high up … one step could be fatal,’ Gido said.
