Six months ago, 65-year-old British-born actor Julian Sands – an avid hiker and mountaineer – was reported missing whilst hiking in the Baldy Bowl hiking area approximately 50 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
At the time, the region was being pounded by severe storms during winter. Ground crews responded and began searching, but avalanche risks and trail conditions made the search hazardous.
Numerous organised searches have taken place since his disappearance, the most recent being last week, and all have proven unsuccessful.
According to The Guardian, earlier this morning hikers found human remains in the wilderness near Mount Baldy and the search area where Sands is thought to have been.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that the body was discovered at around 10am and was transported to the coroner’s office for identification next week.
The discovery today takes place just one day after Sands’ family released its first statement since his disappearance saying:
“We continue to hold Julian in our hearts with bright memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world and the arts, and as an original and collaborative performer.”
Sands broke through in the 1980s with the Oscar-nominated “The Killing Fields,” the Merchant-Ivory drama “A Room With a View” and the supernatural horror tale “Warlock” which became a franchise.
Other film works include “Arachnophobia,” “Boxing Helena,” “Naked Lunch,” “Leaving Las Vegas,” “Grand Isle” and “The Turn of the Screw” and more recently “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. TV works include “24,” “Banshee,” “Stargate: SG-1,” “Smallville,” “Crossbones,” “Jackie Chan Adventures,” “Gotham,” “Will,” “Lipstick Jungle,” and the Stephen King mini-series “Rose Red”. He also had various roles in the “Star Wars: The Old Republic” video game.
