'Don't worry, I'll survive': Youtuber's last message to family before being found frozen to death in snowstorm

Storm De Beul had been trekking in northern Sweden when he was caught in a blizzard, and it cost him his life.

The social media star, who was was known for sharing videos of his adventures in Northern Europe to his YouTube channel StormOutdoorsy, was found dead in Lapland last month.

Tragically, his last message to his family read: “It is snowing heavily here. But don’t worry, I’ll survive, you know.”

The influencer, who was Belgian, had spent most the year hiking solo through the remote Jokkmokk region. Before his death, he had also sent a video to his friend, showing the wind whipping around his tent, as reported Belgian news outlet 7sur7.

Around 2am on Tuesday October 29, however, De Beul 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, but it is not known exactly what had happened to him.

A rescue team was deployed in the early hours of that morning and the star’s body was discovered somewhere along the route between the two points.

His mother, Elisabeth Rademaker, told local news: “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.”

She also said that he was found with a broken nose. She added: “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.”

Rademaker, who her son learnt how to manage in wild by watching hours of videos like his on YouTube, also spoke of her agony of having to wait hours before finding out her son’s fate. 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, who has not been named, described De Beul as someone who “liked being alone” and had “trouble connecting with people”, which is why he went on nature adventures alone.

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.”