Authorities in Southern California on Saturday recovered human remains near the mountain where search parties were looking for British actor Julian Sands, who was reported missing in January.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that it was contacted around 10 a.m. local time Saturday by hikers who found human remains in the wilderness of Mount Baldy, more than 40 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
The remains were taken to the coroner’s office and are expected to be identified this week, the department said.
Dangerous conditions, including a series of severe winter storms and persistent ice and snow in June, made finding Mr. Sands difficult.
Mr. Sands, 65, of North Hollywood, went hiking alone on a trail on Mount Baldy. Hiking websites describe the popular hike as challenging and strenuous.
Mr. Sands has appeared in more than 150 films and television shows, including his best-known role as George Emerson in the Oscar-nominated 1986 film A Room With a View.
The film, adapted from the EM Forster novel, is often cited as one of the best British films of all time.
The Sheriff’s Department provided an update on the search for Mr. Sands last week, saying parts of the mountain are always closed due to “extreme alpine conditions,” including steep terrain and ravines covered with more than 10 feet of ice and snow could not yet be achieved.
On June 17, more than 80 people helped look for him. Two helicopter and drone crews were deployed to check areas inaccessible to searchers on the ground, the sheriff’s department said.
Since January, there have been eight searches for Mr. Sands and eight other independent search and rescue operations in the Mount Baldy area, the ministry said.
After Mr Sands was reported missing, the Hikers Department warned in January that storms in Southern California would create dangerous conditions in the mountains.
The department said it responded to 14 rescue operations for lost, stranded and injured hikers on Mount Baldy and the surrounding area over a four-week period ending Jan. 18. Two of the hikers did not survive after falling and injuring themselves.
On Wednesday Mr Sands’ family thanked the search teams.
“We continue to carry Julian in our hearts and fondly remember him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of nature and the arts, and an original and collaborative artist,” his family said in a statement.
In several interviews, Mr. Sands spoke about his love of hiking and the mountains.
In a 2020 interview with Thrive Global, a company founded by Arianna Huffington that provides behavior modification technologies, Mr. Sands said he spent time in mountain ranges in North America and Europe.
Mr Sands said people who didn’t climb mountains assumed it was a “great heroic sprint” to the summit and ego.
“But actually it’s the other way around,” he said. “It’s about supplication, sacrifice and humility going into these mountains. It’s not so much about celebrating yourself as it is about stamping out your self-esteem. And on these walks you lose yourself, you become a vessel of energy in tune, hopefully, with your surroundings.”