Human remains were discovered by hikers in the Mount San Antonio area of California, near the area where British actor Julian Sands was reported missing five months ago, local authorities said on Sunday.
• Also read: There is still no trace of British actor Julian Sands missing in California
• Also read: British actor goes missing after hiking in California
Those remains were found in the wild Saturday morning, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
“Hikers contacted the Fontana Sheriff’s Station after discovering human remains near the mountain,” he said.
They were taken to the coroner’s office for identification. The process should be completed next week.
Mr Sands, best known for his role in the 1985 James Ivory film A Room With A View, disappeared in January on Mount San Antonio, popularly known as Mount Baldy, which is 10,000 feet high, just outside the borders of Los Angeles .
The 65-year-old was an experienced hiker and said he was happiest when he was “near the top of a mountain on a gloriously cold morning”.
California had been hit by a series of severe storms in December and January, accompanied by heavy snowfall in mountain ranges including Mount San Antonio.
The peak where Sands disappeared is the highest in the San Gabriel Range and a popular destination for Los Angeles residents.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff said at the time the trajectory was becoming increasingly dangerous, with eight known fatalities between 2017 and 2022.
The actor’s brother Nick said two weeks after the search began that he accepted Sands’ disappearance.
“He has not yet been declared missing, he is believed to be dead but I know in my heart that he is gone,” he said, according to local English media in Yorkshire, where the two brothers grew up.