UPDATED with search details: Search and rescue teams are today searching for British actor Julian Sands, who went missing in the San Gabriel Mountains over the weekend. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has been searching for Sands in the Baldy Bowl area of Mt. Baldy since he was reported missing at 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 13
According to SBCSD:
On January 15, 2023, phone pings indicated that Sands was headed to the Mount Baldy area. Further phone pings from the cell phone provider were attempted but were unsuccessful due to the lack of cell service and most likely a cell phone power outage. A delayed ping by the Apple iPhone operating system from Sands on January 14, 2023 provided a possible location on one of the trails leading to the summit of Mount Baldy. This area was surveyed by ground surveyors and by helicopter. Ground and air searchers found no evidence in this area to help locate Mr. Sands.
A resident of North Hollywood, 65, Sands is an experienced hiker and has climbed in the Andes and Swiss Alps. He has appeared in films such as Warlock, Ocean’s Thirteen, The Killing Fields, A Room with a View, Arachnophobia and Leaving Las Vegas.
The actor told The Guardian in 2020 that he’s happiest when he’s “near a mountaintop on a cold morning” and harbors a desire to climb “a remote peak in the high Himalayas like Makalu”. He said he came closest to dying when “in the early ’90s he and three others were caught in a terrible storm at over 20,000 feet in the Andes. We were all very bad. Some people near us have died; We were lucky.”
The search for Sands was halted Saturday night as avalanche hazards and dangerous trail conditions developed at the 10,000-foot summit. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department pulled off ground crews searching for Sands off the mountain.
The search has continued using helicopters and drones, and ground crews will resume if weather conditions improve, according to the Times.
A spokesman for the sheriff’s department urged others to avoid the Mt Baldy area, saying it was “far too dangerous, even for experienced hikers.” At least three people have died climbing the mountain in the past six years. Most recently, according to the LA Times Crystal Paula Gonzalez-Landas died after falling down an icy cliff.
Authorities are also looking for Bob Gregory, of Hawthorne, who was reported missing by family members on Monday, according to reports from ABC 7. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s San Dimas Station said the search for Gregory is in the Crystal Lake area of the San Gabriel Mountains.
BEFORE on Wednesday: British actor Julian Sands has disappeared while hiking the 10,000-foot Mount Baldy in Southern California, northeast of Los Angeles.
Authorities in San Bernardino County are searching for 65-year-old Sands, who was reported missing on Friday. It is believed to be on the Baldy Bowl Trail, a popular spot in the San Gabriel Mountains.
“Due to the severe weather and alpine conditions, the search was difficult and air resource utilization was limited over the weekend,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “The search for air resources continues and further updates will be provided as they become available.”
Sands has appeared in films such as Warlock, Ocean’s Thirteen, The Killing Fields, A Room with a View, Arachnophobia, and Leaving Las Vegas.
The search takes place in the midst of storms in the mountains.
“In the past four weeks, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue (SAR) teams have responded to 14 rescue operations on Mt. Baldy and the surrounding area,” police said in a news release via Facebook on Wednesday.
“These rescue missions were for lost, stranded and/or injured hikers. Unfortunately, in the last 4 weeks, two hikers have not survived after falling and injuring themselves,” she added.
Police reiterated that the weather on the mountain was “adverse and extremely dangerous” given the strong winds and recent severe storms across the state.
“The snow has turned to ice, which makes hiking extremely dangerous,” the sheriff’s department said.