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
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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.”
Authorities continue the search for Julian Sands
On Tuesday (24 January), the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department maintained that “the search will continue, weather and ground conditions permitting”.
The search for the British actor is nearing the end of its second week. And while “numerous ground and air search efforts have taken place” the new statement reads, “as of this time, Mr Sands has not been found and no evidence of his current location has been discovered.”
Authorities added that fresh searches on higher ground for Sands are still not possible due to poor conditions.
Weather conditions in Mount Baldy
Last week’s weather in the Mount Baldy area prohibited ground teams from continuing the search via foot due to avalanche and trail conditions. Instead, air searches via helicopters and drones were deployed.
The current weather forecast for today, Wednesday (25 January), is 25 F (-3 C), but with current wind temperatures, it actually feels like 16 F (-8 C). There are no snow predictions until Sunday (29 January).
Sands still missing as second missing hiker located
On Sunday (22 January), over a week after Sands was reported missing, authorities were requested to start a search for a second missing hiker, Jin Chung.
A few days later on Tuesday (24 January), the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department successfully located Chung. The 75-year-old Los Angeles resident “was transported to a local hospital for treatment”.
He had “suffered some weather-related injuries and a leg injury but was able to walk out with the assistance of the crew members”.
Sands' friend will remember actor as a ‘Renaissance man’
As the prospects of finding missing Hollywood actor Julian Sands grow dimmer by the day, the mountaineering community is mourning.
“The climbing community kind of deals with this a lot, but it’s still a tragedy for all of us,” Gordon Janow, director of Alpine Ascents International, told The Independent.
Janow said he would remember his friend of 20 years as a Renaissance man who was just as at home in the mountains as he was in front of the camera.
‘He was a wonderful man to deal with. Always pleasant, upbeat, erudite, interesting to talk to’
Julian Sands’ family are ‘frantic with worry'
With the search for Julian Sands now entering its 13th day, “his family are frantic with worry”, a close friend told The Independent.
On Monday (23 January), the British actor’s family sent their “heartfelt thanks” to authorities and search teams for their “heroic” efforts.
Sands has appeared in more than 150 films and TV series
Julian Sands’ brother knows ‘in his heart’ actor is gone
Julian Sands’ older brother Nick Sands has shared that he knows “in his heart” the missing British actor is no longer alive.
Nick told the Craven Herald that he had accepted that the prospects of finding the Leaving Las Vegas actor 11 days after he went missing in treacherous conditions in a Californian mountain range alive had all but gone.
“He has not yet been declared missing, presumed dead, but I know in my heart that he has gone,” Nick told the local news site.
“However, sibling rivalry being what it is, it would be just like him to walk out of there and prove me wrong.”
“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,” his brother Nick says
How many siblings does Julian Sands have?
In addition to his older brother Nick Sands, who recently spoke to a local news site about the British actor, Julian Sands has three more brothers.
Julian is the third of five children, all boys, of his since-divorced parents William and Brenda Sands.
Before Julian’s disappearance, he was scheduled to meet Nick and his other three brothers Robin, Jeremy, and Quentin for their weekly “Monday Club”.
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 found dead in the mountains.
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.
Earlier this week, 75-year-old hiker Jin Chung was located and rescued after he had gone missing on Sunday (22 January).
Is the climate crisis behind California’s string of hiker tragedies?
This month, as climate-amped superstorms battered California, first responders have carried out 14 rescue missions on Mount Baldy’s peak, the highest summit in the San Gabriel mountain range.
The mountain is emblematic of a growing threat: the deadly impact of the climate crisis on one of America’s favourite pastimes, the great outdoors.
Two people have died and a third man, the British actor Julian Sands, is still missing after nearly a week.
The Independent’s Josh Marcus investigates the link between climbing accidents and climate.
Extreme winter weather is becoming more common in the Golden State, Josh Marcus reports
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