Search Continues For Actor Julian Sands Who Vanished On Mt. Baldy

MT. BALDY, CA — Five months after Julian Sands disappeared on Mt. Baldy, search efforts were again underway over the weekend for the missing 65-year-old British actor.

Despite Saturday’s operation — which included over 80 volunteers, deputies and staff with support from drone crews and two helicopters — Sands was not found, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department reported.

Hope that Sands might be alive on the mountain has dwindled.

"Since January, the sheriff’s department has conducted eight searches (ground and air) specific to Mr. Sands, with volunteer searcher hours exceeding 500 hours. Additionally, eight unrelated search and rescue operations have been conducted in the Mount Baldy area," the department reported Saturday. "Mr. Sands’ missing person case remains active and search efforts will continue in a limited capacity."

Sands, a North Hollywood resident, was reported missing by family at about 7:30 p.m. January 13 after he did not return from hiking in the Baldy Bowl area, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Mara Rodriguez.

Search and rescue personnel responded and began a search but, due to trail conditions and the risk of avalanche, ground crews were pulled off the mountain the following evening due to treacherous conditions, Rodriguez said.

"It is our recommendation that people stay away from that area," Rodriguez said at the time. "It is extremely dangerous and even experienced hikers are getting in trouble."

It's unclear how much hiking experience Sands has. Mt. Baldy is a 10,064-foot summit in the San Gabriel Mountains, on the border of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Snowfall from winter storms had been heavy at the time of the actor's disappearance, prompting warnings from authorities. Overnight low temperatures were below freezing many nights.

Despite recent warmer weather, portions of the mountain remain inaccessible due to extreme Alpine conditions.

"Multiple areas include steep terrain and ravines, which still have 10-plus feet of ice and snow," the sheriff's department reported over the weekend.

On Saturday, search teams were flown to remote spots across Mt. Baldy and drone crews searched areas inaccessible to ground crews, the department reported.

Sands has appeared in dozens of films since the 1980s, including critically acclaimed projects such as the "The Killing Fields," "A Room with a View," "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," and "Leaving Las Vegas." On television, he is known for playing Vladimir Bierko in "24," Jor-El in "Smallville," and as Yulish Rabitov in "Banshee."

Sands was born in the United Kingdom. He is married and has three children.

Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to call Detective B. Meelker with the Fontana Sheriff's Station at 909-356-6710.