Search for actor Julian Sands continues in “limited capacity”
The Killing Fields star went missing while hiking in California in January
The five-month search for actor Julian Sands continued over the weekend, but the operation will be scaled back considerably. Sands went missing while hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains in
California in January. Since then, there have been eight search missions led by the San Bernadino Sheriff’s Department; however, there is little hope that he will
be found. More than 80 volunteers, deputies, staff, drone crews, and two helicopters combed the area to no avail on Saturday.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Sands was not located,” a statement from the San Bernadino Sheriff’s Department read. “Mr. Sands’ missing person case remains active, and search efforts will continue in a limited capacity.”
An avid hiker and climber, Sands was reported missing after not returning from a solo exclusion in the Mount Baldy region of the San Gabriel Mountains on January 13. The actor’s brother Nick said that Julian Sands climbed the Matterhorn and the Eiger and “walked the length of the Pennine Way” with “just a small tent and averaged over 30 miles a day.”
Sadly, Sands’ family has accepted the worst. “I know in my heart that he has gone,” Sands’ brother said in January. “However, sibling rivalry being what it is, it would be just like him to walk out of there and prove me wrong.”
“He has an army of friends, fans, and admirers who have been fantastic in their support and will miss Jules dearly,” Nick said. “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.”
Sands is best known for his roles in A Room With A View, Warlock, Arachnophobia, and playing Jor-El on Smallville. His last role was opposite John Malkovich in the 2023 German-Moroccan film Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes.