Ofir Gross
Ofir GrossScreenshot/Facebook

Ofir Gross, a 40-year-old from Jerusalem, has been missing for a week after disappearing during a trip in Hungary, and local police are desperately searching for traces of him after his worried family reported the sudden loss of contact with him.

Gross, a bio-medical engineering student at a university in Berlin, last week flew to Budapest, and according to local rumors he intended to continue his travels to the city of Debrecen.

He told his family he was going to stay with a Hungarian native in the town of Tiszakécske, and since then there has been no contact.

"My parents last spoke with Ofir last Thursday," his sister Gali told Channel 2 on Thursday.

"He was in the city at a girl's house through 'couchsurfing,'" she explained, indicating a website allowing travelers to stay with local hosts. "That girl had to go to Budapest for work, so he looked for a different place to sleep."

Gali said that her brother contacted a local resident who offered him an empty sofa to sleep on, but she didn't know whether he arrived at the house of the local or else disappeared before arriving.

"We don't have a single thread to work on. It's horrifying. We're trying not to think (about what could have happened) in order to try and focus and concentrate on finding him."

As local police search for Gross, the Israeli embassy in Hungary and the Israeli Foreign Ministry are getting involved in the efforts.

The missing Israeli is 1.78 meters (5'8'') tall with a thin build, blue eyes, light skin and dark brown hair. He was last seen wearing a black and blue coat.