British-born Hollywood actor Julian Sands went missing while on a hike in January near California's Mount Baldy and, despite multiple efforts to find him, has not been seen since.
However, the San Bernadino County Sheriff's Department revealed on Saturday that the search for Sands continues despite being hampered by "extreme alpine conditions" in the area, the Daily Wire reported.
In a June 17 press release, the sheriff's department announced that it had "continued ongoing search efforts in the Mount Baldy wilderness for missing hiker Julian Sands. Unfortunately, Mr. Sands was not located."
"Saturday’s search included over 80 Search and Rescue volunteers, deputies, and staff. Their efforts were supported by two helicopters, and drone crews," the release continued. "Aviation resources inserted search teams into remote areas across Mount Baldy and conducted aerial search and assessments efforts. Additionally, drone crews searched areas inaccessible to ground crews."
However, even though the weather has been much warmer recently, "portions of the mountain remain inaccessible due to extreme alpine conditions. Multiple areas include steep terrain and ravines, which still have 10-plus feet of ice and snow."
The department noted that since Sands first went missing in January, it has conducted eight separate searches on the ground and in the air -- including more than 500 hours from volunteers -- that specifically looked for Sands, and also kept an eye out for him on another eight different unrelated searches of the area for other lost individuals.
"Mr. Sands’ missing person case remains active and search efforts will continue in a limited capacity," the release concluded.
On Wednesday, The Hollywood Reporter shared a statement from the family of Sands, which said, "We are deeply grateful to the search teams and coordinators who have worked tirelessly to find Julian."
"We continue to hold Julian in our hearts with bright memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world and the arts, and as an original and collaborative performer," the family added.
Sands was first reported missing on January 13 when he didn't return from an evening hike on Mount Baldy, and there have been intermittent searches for him since then, weather permitting, that were nonetheless hampered and limited by the dangerous and extreme conditions.
The search has been largely focused on an area around where an electronic device believed to have belonged to Sands last transmitted a signal, but no trace of the actor has been found either on the ground or from above.
According to Sands' IMDb page, he was born in England in 1958, launched his acting career in 1982, got married to British author and journalist Sarah Sands in 1984 but was divorced in 1987 after having one child, and is currently married to author and journalist , whom he wed in 1990 and has two children.
Over the course of his three-decade career, Sands has 159 acting credits for his appearances in movies, TV series, and voiceovers for animated works and video games.
He is perhaps best known for 1985's "A Room With A View," but also starred in 1989's "Warlock," and 1990's "Arachnophobia," as well as a recurring role in 2006 on the TV series "24."
