Julian Sands missing: Avalanche risk as air search resumed for missing actor

Ground crews are still unable to continue their search efforts for missing actor Julian Sands, due to the risk of avalanches in the area.

Mr Sands, 65, was reported missing during a hiking trip in the Baldy Bowl area of the San Gabriel mountains on Friday, as searches by local authorities continue by “helicopter and drones when weather permits”.

“The air search is being resumed, but we have not been able to resume a ground search yet due to icy conditions and a threat of avalanches,” Gloria Huerta, Public Information Officer for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department told the BBC on Friday.

She said there was still “no time set” for when they would begin again.

A friend has described the strength of Julian Sands’ love for his wife and children.

“His total and absolute adoration is always towards his wife the novelist and screenwriter Evgenia Citkowitz by whom he has two daughters,” they told The Independent.

“And his son Henry by his first wife the journalist Sarah Sands is closely bonded to him and joined the search for him in the Californian mountains where he went missing.

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 dying on the mountain.

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.

US authorities have said that there is still “no hard deadline” for calling off the search for Julian Sands.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department said that the incident was still being classified as a search and rescue operation.

“We will schedule another ground search when the weather improves, and it is safe for our ground crews,” a spokesperson from the department said.

The helicopter search is still under way for missing actor Julian Sands, with US authorities using mobile phone forensics to try and pinpoint his location.

Both national and state officials are working to help find Mr Sands. On Friday, the country sheriff’s department revealed that pings from the actor’s phone appeared to show that he was on the move on the day he was reported missing.

A spokesperson for the department said: “We are working with state and federal agencies that have cell phone forensics to assist us in pinpointing a location, but so far no new info has been developed.”

The family of Julian Sands have shared with The Independent the last known images of him mountaineering.

Poignant photographs that he sent to his grandson Billy in September show him looking relaxed and happy while climbing the 14,783ft Weisshorn mountain in the Swiss Alps.

The Weisshorn, a three-ridged pyramid-shaped mountain about 15 miles from the Matterhorn, is described by climbing experts as “more serious” than its famous neighbour. “One of the most difficult 4,000m peaks, the Weisshorn is a long and serious climb by any route,” according to Alpine Guides.

A friend of Julian Sands has described him as “wild” and “a Byronesque romantic”.

“Julian is wild and never contained by rules or boundaries. He is a Byronesque romantic and an adventurer who is drawn to the extremes of nature, relishing the freedom of mountains which he conquers all over the world,” they told The Independent.

“He is deeply inspired by the Romantic poets and his performances of their work are spellbinding and come from a passionate love of literature.

“He is a friend bound by Homeric qualities of loyalty and living life to the full. He takes no prisoners and yet is as gentle and generous and sensitive as the poets he so admired.”

The conditions on Mount Baldy, where rescuers are searching for Julian Sands, are “adverse and extremely dangerous” and are not favourable even for highly experienced hikers, police warned this week.

“Due to the high winds, the snow has turned to ice making hiking extremely dangerous,” San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said on Friday.

“Sheriff’s Search and Rescue efforts are often hampered by poor weather along with dangerous avalanche conditions. The recent storms that brought the snow and ice conditions are not favorable for hikers, even those that feel they have a high level of experience.”