Officials Working To Pinpoint Last Known Location Of Julian Sands, Who Went Missing While Hiking On California’s Treacherous Mt. Baldy – Update

Bruce Haring and Tom Tapp
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UPDATED with new details on search: The San Bernardino Sheriff Department reported today that the search for actor Julian Sands continues via helicopter only.  “Evidence of avalanches was observed earlier in the week on the west side of the slopes and ground search and rescue efforts continue to be held back,” SBSD said in a statement.

The department indicated that additional air searches will be conducted, but said “there is no set time or duration for the searches.”

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The latest release from the department clarifies that the pings from Sands’ phone received on January 14th and 15th were delayed, likely because of his remote mountain location, where there is little cell service. SBSD said those pings actually showed Sands’ movement on January 13th, when he was first reported missing while hiking at Mount Baldy. The actor’s car was found in the area earlier this week and towed away.

Detectives are working with California Office of Emergency Services, the statement said, indicating COES has additional cell phone forensic technology that can be used to pinpoint an exact location. “Thus far, no workable leads have been developed,” the department said in the statement.

PREVIOUSLY on Thursday: Search-and-rescue teams are searching today for British actor Julian Sands, who went missing in the San Gabriel Mountains over the weekend. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department have been searching for Sands in the Baldy Bowl area of Mt. Baldy since he was reported missing Friday, January 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Per the SBCSD:

On January 15, 2023, phone pings showed Sands to be heading to the Mount Baldy area. Additional phone pings from the cell provider were attempted but were unsuccessful, due to the lack of cell service and most likely cell phone power failure. A delayed ping through Sands’ Apple iPhone operating system, from January 14, 2023, provided a possible location on one of the trails leading to the summit of Mount Baldy. This area was checked by ground searchers and by helicopter. Ground and air searchers were unable to locate any evidence in this area that would assist in locating Mr. Sands.

The 65-year-old Sands, a resident of North Hollywood, is an experienced hiker and has climbed in the Andes and the Swiss Alps. He has appeared in such films as Warlock, Ocean’s Thirteen, The Killing Fields, A Room with a View, Arachnophobia and Leaving Las Vegas.

The actor told The Guardian in 2020 that he was happiest when “close to a mountain summit on a cold morning” and had aspirations of climbing “a remote peak in the high Himalayas, such as Makalu.” He said the closest he had ever come to dying was “In the early 90s, in the Andes, caught in an atrocious storm above 20,000ft with three others. We were all in a very bad way. Some guys close to us perished; we were lucky.”

The search for Sands was interrupted Saturday night when avalanche risks and dangerous trail conditions developed on the 10,000 foot peak. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department pulled ground crews searching for Sands off the mountain.

The search continued with helicopters and drones, and ground crews will resume when weather conditions improve, according to the Times.

A spokesperson for the sheriff’s department urged others to avoid the Mt. Baldy area, saying it is “much too dangerous, even for the skilled hiker.” At least three people have perished while climbing the mountain in the past six years. Most recently Crystal Paula Gonzalez-Landas died after falling down an icy slope, according to the L.A. Times.

Authorities are also searching for Bob Gregory from Hawthorne, who was reported missing by family members on Monday, according to ABC 7 reports. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas station said the search for Gregory is in the Crystal Lake area of the San Gabriel Mountains.

PREVIOUSLY on Wednesday: British actor Julian Sands has gone missing while hiking Southern California’s 10,000-foot Mount Baldy, located northeast of Los Angeles.

Authorities in San Bernardino County are searching for Sands, age 65, who was reported missing on Friday. He is believed to be on the Baldy Bowl Trail, a popular spot on the San Gabriel Mountains.

“Due to the severe weather and alpine conditions, the search has been difficult and the use of air resources was limited over the weekend,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “The search is continuing with air resources and further updates will be given when available.”

Sands has appeared in such films as Warlock, Ocean’s Thirteen, The Killing Fields, A Room with a View, Arachnophobia and Leaving Las Vegas.

The search comes comes amid severe weather conditions in the mountains.

“Over the last four weeks, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue (SAR) Teams have responded to 14 rescue missions on Mt Baldy and in the surrounding area,” police said in a news release via Facebook on Wednesday.

“These rescue missions have been for lost, stranded and/or injured hikers. Unfortunately, during these past 4 weeks, two hikers did not survive after falling and injuring themselves,” it added.

Police reiterated that the weather on the mountain is “adverse and extremely dangerous” amid high winds and recent severe storms across the state.

“The snow has turned to ice making hiking extremely dangerous,” said the sheriff’s department.

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