Hikers found human remains in a Southern California mountain range near the area where British actor Julian Sands went missing in January, authorities said Saturday.
According to a news release from the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office, hikers contacted the Fontana Sheriff’s Station at about 10 a.m. PDT on Saturday about the discovery of human remains in the Mount Baldy wilderness.
The remains were taken to the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office, where an investigation will be completed next week, the sheriff’s office said.
Mount Baldy is located 12 miles north of Ontario, California, in the Angeles National Forest.
The search for Sands, known for his roles in movies like “A Room with a View,” “Warlock” and “Leaving Las Vegas, resumed last weekend, five months after he disappeared during a hike.
[ Search resumes for ‘Warlock’ actor Julian Sands, who went missing while hiking ]
Last week, the sheriff’s office said it had been hindered in search efforts because portions of the San Gabriel Mountains, where Sands was hiking along the popular Baldy Bowl Trail, were inaccessible “due to extreme alpine conditions.”
Sands, 65, an avid hiker and mountaineer, was reported missing after hiking on the peak that rises more than 10,000 feet east of Los Angeles, according to The Associated Press. The actor was reported missing on Jan. 18, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Mara Rodriguez told The Orange County Register in January.
Earlier this week, Sands’ family released a statement for the first time since his disappearance, KABC-TV reported.
“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 statement said.
Born in England, Sands resided in the North Hollywood area, according to KABC.
[ Julian Sands, ‘A Room with a View,’ ‘Warlock’ actor, reported missing while hiking ]
The actor has appeared in more than 150 films and television shows, KTLA-TV reported. Some of his movie credits include roles in “The Killing Fields,” “Naked Lunch,” “Snakehead” and “Arachnophobia,” according to IMDb.com.
On television, Sands appeared in 11 episodes of “24,” according to the entertainment database.
He is married to journalist Evgenia Citkowitz and has three adult children, the AP reported.
Additional details were not immediately available from the sheriff’s office.