Julian Sands: Helicopters again grounded by high winds in search for missing actor

Fresh searches on higher ground for Sands are still not possible due to poor conditions

Julian Sands: Who is the Hollywood British actor missing in California?

Authorities in California say the search for Julian Sands will continue by air only.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department released an update on Wednesday evening US time to say helicopters continued to search the San Gabriel Mountains for any sign of the missing British actor.

The California Highway Patrol’s Valley Division Air Ops has been brought in to assist the search using a device that can detect reflective material and in some cases credit cards, the sheriff’s office said. 

Meanwhile, Julian Sands’ brother Nick has said that he knows “in my heart” that his sibling is no longer alive, as the search for the missing British actor approached its second week.

“However sibling rivalry being what it is, it would be just like him to walk out of there and prove me wrong,” Nick said in comments to his his local Yorkshire paper, the Craven Herald.

Sands was reported missing on 13 January, sparking a major search and rescue effort led by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office.

On Tuesday, an official statement from the sheriff’s office said that fresh searches on higher ground for Sands are still not possible due to poor conditions.

Last week, Sands’ family released the last known images of him mountaineering, telling The Independent: “This is how he would love to be seen, doing what he loved best – a heroic mountaineer.”

Key points

• Police say search will continue by air only
• A missing hiker has been located on Mt Baldy
• Julian Sands’ brother says he fears missing actor won’t be found
• Sands’ family issues statement thanking authorities for search effort
• Julian Sands: A timeline of missing actor’s disappearance

[24 January 2023 08:29 · Peony Hirwani]

Actor Matthew Modine prays for Julian Sands’s safe return

“Julian Sands is a wonderful man, husband, father, and friend to so so many. A gentle, kind soul. Keep candles burning for his safe return from the mountain he loves,” Matthew Modine wrote on Twitter.

[24 January 2023 08:49 · Peony Hirwani]

[24 January 2023 09:29 · Peony Hirwani]

Frank Marshall sends wishes to Julian Sands’s family

“Hope and thoughts going out to the family of my dear friend and wonderful actor, Julian Sands, who is missing on Mt Baldy. Let’s all pray for a miracle,” Frank Marshall wrote on Twitter.

[24 January 2023 10:09 · Peony Hirwani]

Air search continues for missing British actor in California.

[24 January 2023 10:49 · Peony Hirwani]

At least 19 people killed in California storms

California has been hit by a string of violent winter storms that have brought flooding and major snowfall, prompting power cuts and evacuations and leading to the deaths of at least 19 people.

According to the sheriff’s department, it has launched 14 search and rescue missions in the Mount Baldy area alone over the past month, with two hikers dying on the mountain.

In addition to Julian Sands, rescuers in Los Angeles county are also currently searching the San Gabriel range for missing 61-year-old hiker Robert Gregory.

[24 January 2023 11:29 · Peony Hirwani]

Last pictures actor Julian Sands sent to his grandson from snow-clad mountain peak

The family of Julian Sands released the last known images of him mountaineering.

A family member told The Independent: “This is how he would love to be seen, doing what he loved best – a heroic mountaineer, and thrilled to send a picture of him looking so happy to share with his beloved grandson, Billy.”

And a friend described him as “a Byronesque romantic and an adventurer who is drawn to the extremes of nature, relishing the freedom of mountains”.

[24 January 2023 12:19 · Peony Hirwani]

Sheriff’s department now searching for two missing hikers on Mt Baldy

On Sunday 22 January, personnel from Sheriff’s Search and Rescue and the Fontana Sheriff’s Station were requested to search for the missing hiker, Jin Chung.

Chung initially carpooled to Mt Baldy with two others but separated from them when they arrived, with an understanding they would meet back at the vehicle at 2 pm.

The other hikers returned safely but Chung has not been seen or heard from.

[24 January 2023 13:09 · Peony Hirwani]

Video report: Who is the Hollywood British actor missing in California?

[24 January 2023 16:54 · Andy Gregory]

Sands’ brother Nick says he ‘knows in his heart’ sibling is no longer alive

A brother of Julian Sands has said that he “knows in his heart” that his sibling is no longer alive.

Nick Sands, who lives in Gargrave, Yorkshire, and last saw his brother in October, told the local Craven Herald newspaper: “He has not yet been declared missing, presumed dead, but I know in my heart that he has gone. However sibling rivalry being what it is, it would be just like him to walk out of there and prove me wrong.

“On Monday, he had planned to join his brothers for our Monday Club for a beer in Skipton; he will be missed, and I guess we will raise a glass to him.”

He added: “When in LA, the Mt Baldy mountain range was his favourite place, he would go there as often as he could, Julian liked to say ‘I have never had a holiday but I do rest occasionally’ – well he’s resting now in a place he would truly approve of.”

[24 January 2023 18:00 · Andy Gregory]

Julian Sands’ family are ‘frantic with worry’ after the British actor went missing

The search for Julian Sands is now in its 11th day, with his family issuing a statement on Monday thanking authorities for their “heroic” efforts.

“His family are frantic with worry,” a close friend told The Independent.