Rescuers have recovered a car as they continue to search for missing British actor Julian Sands. The actor was identified as the California hiker who disappeared on Friday following a bout of severe weather in the state.
The 65-year-old, an avid trekker with mountaineering experience, was hiking near Mount Baldy in the San Gabriel Mountains just outside of Los Angeles. He was reported missing at 7.30pm on Friday.
It now appears that rescuers have found a car thought to be Sands. Video shows officials towing the silver Volvo, which was found yesterday.
The search began on Saturday but was impeded by severe weather and brought to a temporary halt. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said that they were using drones and helicopters to combat hazardous conditions.
Sands is a keen outdoorsman and who had a brush with death during an Andes trek in the 1990s.
He has previously recalled how the expedition nearly turned deadly, telling the Guardian: “I was in the Andes, caught in an atrocious storm above 20,000ft with three others. We were all in a very bad way. Some guys close to us perished; we were lucky.”
The dad-of-three was catapulted to fame after he appeared in the 1985 blockbuster A Room with a View alongside Helena Bonham Carter. Sands has appeared in more than 150 movies including Warlock, Arachnophobia and Leaving Las Vegas. He also featured in hit TV shows, including Smallville and 24.
He has two adult daughters with journalist Evgenia Citkowitz who he married in 1990. He also has a son with ex-wife Sarah Sands, the former editor of the Sunday Telegraph and Evening Standard in London.
Sands told Thrive Global about his expeditions during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
He said: “It’s not so much a celebration of oneself but the eradication of one’s self-consciousness. And so on these walks you lose yourself, you become a vessel of energy in harmony hopefully with your environment.
“I mean, two days ago, I was just an old guy begging people for water at a trail head in the Santa Monica mountains. Who cares if you’re a film person, I was just someone very grateful for the kindness of strangers.”
Mount Baldy, where Sands went missing, is a popular trekking spot. The mountain can be seen towering over Los Angeles where Sands lives in North Hollywood.
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Sands is believed to be somewhere near the Baldy Bowl Trail, a popular trail. The 10,000 foot peak is similar in height to Ben Nevis in Scotland.
Police said that they had received calls from 14 hikers in distress in the San Gabriel Mountains in the last four weeks alone and urged people to avoid the area as conditions remained dangerous.
The news of his disappearance sent shockwaves through the film industry and prompted an outpouring of well-wishes from friends and colleagues.
British filmmaker Cassian Elwes, a close friend of Sands, took to Twitter on Wednesday night, writing: “I’ve known since Friday that my friend Julian Sands has been missing on Mount Baldy.
“I’m devastated. A very close family friend who was an adventurer in everything he did. I’ve said many prayers.”
Two and a Half Men star Jon Cryer added: “I am hoping against hope that this will turn out to be just another one of his adventures. I’m so sorry for his family and friends going through this.”
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The news of Sands’ disappearance comes as two hikers died in the popular Los Angeles hiking area. On December 17, several hikers had to be rescued by helicopter when icy conditions made it impossible to move.
Police said: “Over the last four weeks, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue (SAR) Teams have responded to 14 rescue missions on Mount Baldy and in the surrounding area.
“These rescue missions have been for lost, stranded and/or injured hikers. Unfortunately, during these past four weeks, two hikers did not survive after falling and injuring themselves.”
The Department added that its search efforts had been impeded by “poor weather and dangerous avalanche conditions”.
It’s unclear if Sands was hiking alone or if he was with other people at the time of his disappearance.
