British actor Julian Sands, who disappeared more than five months ago while climbing Mount Baldy in Southern California, has been positively identified via forensic analysis.
On Tuesday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department announced the death of the missing Los Angeles resident and actor, 65. The investigation regarding the cause of death is ongoing.
The sheriff’s office said that hikers discovered Sands’ body early Saturday morning. On January 13, it was reported that he went missing on Mt. Baldy, a popular hiking destination in the San Gabriel Mountains about 50 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
In a statement released on Friday, Sands’ family commended the sheriff’s office for resuming the search after “extreme alpine conditions” thwarted prior attempts for two months.
This past winter, California was hit by catastrophic storms from atmospheric rivers, leading to severe flooding, mudslides, and dangerous conditions in the state’s wilderness areas.
Just two days after Julian Sands disappeared, a woman fell from Mount Baldy, dying after a fall of more than 500 feet. A 75-year-old man who had been missing on Mount Baldy for two days was rescued that same accident-riddled January.
More than eighty volunteers, deputies, and staff members investigated the area again on June 17 in a fruitless attempt to locate Sands. Since Sands went missing in January after going on a hike, authorities have conducted eight ground and air searches using more than 500 hours of volunteer searcher work.
Sands was born on January 4, 1958, in Otley (United Kingdom.) His career in acting began to take off in the 1980s.
He has appeared in such films and TV shows as “The Killing Fields,” “A Room With a View,” “24,” and “Smallville.”
A wife and three children are left behind.
