Hikers discovered human remains in the area of Mt. Baldy where Julian Sands disappeared in January, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s office announced Saturday. The body has yet to be identified as the “A Room with a View” and “Warlock” actor, however.
“On Saturday, June 24, 2023, at about 10:00 a.m., civilian hikers contacted the Fontana Sheriff’s Station after they discovered human remains in the Mt. Baldy wilderness,” the sheriff’s office posted on social media Saturday evening. “Fontana Station deputies, along with the Sheriff’s Department’s Emergency Operations Division, responded to the scene. The decedent was transported to the Coroner’s Office, pending positive identification. Identification should be completed next week at which time we will update this press release. No further details are available at this time.”
The day before the discovery, his family released a statement saying they are “deeply grateful to the search teams and coordinators who have worked tirelessly to find Julian,” adding, “We continue to hold Julian in our hearts, with bright memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world and the arts, and as an original and collaborative performer.”
The English character actor known for his work in such films as “The Killing Fields” and “Boxing Helena,” was first reported missing in mid-January after not returning from a hike in the San Gabriel Mountains somewhere along the Baldy Bowl Trail in Mt. Baldy. His disappearance came in the midst of unusually severe and prolonged weather and rainfall in the Southern California region.
Cell phone data revealed that Sands was heading toward the summit of Mount Baldy on Jan. 13. Further attempts from the cell provider to ping the 65-year-old were unsuccessful. Hikers have been warned to steer clear of the area, which has been deemed “extremely dangerous even for the skilled hiker,” a spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office told TheWrap at the time.
More than 80 volunteers, deputies and others joined two helicopters and drone crews in the search that resumed last Saturday.
The family has not responded to the announcement that a body was found Saturday.
