THAILAND/GEORGIA – Tragic certainty for the family and millions of fans of Hlun Solo: The Thai travel YouTuber, missing for over two weeks in Georgia, has been found dead. The news arrived on Wednesday from Thai travel creator Wanchai Wongseng, who helped coordinate the international search.
On July 29, Akira “Wanchai” Wongseng, operator of the popular Thai YouTube travel show “Asa Pha Pai Long,” spoke out via social media. His message read: “I found Hlun’s body. My deepest condolences to the family. I have already informed the relatives. The family will share further details themselves.”
Search coordinator confirms the body find
Wongseng, who has his own tourism partners in Georgia, had been actively involved in coordinating the search in recent days. He has not commented on the exact circumstances of the death or the location where the body was found. He explicitly asked that further information be left to the family.
I found Hlun’s body. My deepest condolences to the family. I have already informed the relatives. The family will share further details themselves
said Akira “Wanchai” Wongseng, travel creator.
Disappeared on July 13
The 26-year-old Baworntat Pengsook, known online as “Hlun Solo,” had traveled alone to Georgia to produce new content for his travel channels. The last sign of life to his brother dates from July 13. After that, all contact broke off — he could not be reached by phone or via social media.
His family suspected he was in the mountain regions popular with hikers and backpackers: Svaneti, Kazbegi, or Mestia in the Caucasus. His brother, known online as “Klose Mos,” launched a public search appeal on July 28 that went viral in Thailand within hours.
Diplomatic search operation ran at full speed
The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the cross-border search on Wednesday morning. The Royal Thai Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, which also handles consular affairs for Georgia, coordinated investigations jointly with Georgian law enforcement authorities, the designated Thai Honorary Consul in Tbilisi, and a network of Thai expatriates.
Jaithai Upakarnitikaset, director of the Information Department and spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, previously said the ministry was closely monitoring the situation. Alongside official efforts, Hlun Solo’s millions of followers in Thailand mobilised one of the largest online search campaigns in recent years.
From factory worker to global travel star
Hlun Solo was far more than an ordinary influencer in Thailand. His life story touched millions: Raised in the northeastern province of Kalasin by his grandmother after his father died early, he worked in a factory in Bangkok after school — for the legal minimum wage of 300 baht a day, in ten-hour shifts.
From that money, he saved for his studies and eventually fought his way to a full scholarship at the prestigious Chulalongkorn University, where he graduated in political science. Instead of a conventional career, he chose travel: With a backpack, he visited over 50 countries and documented remote places off the tourist trail.
On Facebook he had around 2.5 million followers, on YouTube over 900,000 subscribers. For many young Thais, he was a role model: proof that it can be worthwhile, against all odds, to follow your own dream.
Nationwide mourning in Thailand
After the news of his death broke, condolences flooded Thai social media. Celebrities, companions, and fans said goodbye to a man who captivated millions with his humility and unconventional travel reports.
The family has not yet commented publicly on the death and has asked for restraint. Details about the exact sequence of events, the cause of death, and the transfer of the body to Thailand are to be communicated later by the relatives themselves. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok has promised further support with the necessary formalities.