Julian Sands search: human remains found in mountain area

SAN BERNARDINO, California –

Hikers found human remains on Saturday in a mountain area in Southern California where actor Julian Sands disappeared five months ago, authorities said.

The body discovered in the wilderness near Mount Baldy around 10 a.m. was transported to the coroner’s office next week for identification, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

Additional details were not immediately available.

Sands, an avid hiker and rock climber, was reported missing on Jan. 13 after taking off from the summit that rises more than 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) east of Los Angeles. The region was ravaged by severe storms during the winter.

On Friday, his family released the first statement since Sands’ disappearance.

“We will continue to hold Julian in our hearts with fond memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world and art, and as an original and collaborative artist,” the statement read.

Sands, a 65-year-old British-born actor best known for his role in the 1985 film “A Room With a View,” is married to journalist Evgenia Citkowitz and has three adult children.

A search for Sands on June 17, the eighth organized search since his disappearance, was unsuccessful, authorities said.