Julian Sands, 65, Confirmed Dead 5 Months After Actor Disappeared While Hiking

The British actor was reported missing in January after embarking on a hike in California

Julian Sands, the 65-year-old actor who went missing in January while hiking California's Mount Baldy, has been confirmed dead.

On Tuesday, the San Fernando Sheriff's Department confirmed that the remains found by recreational hikers in the area of Mount Baldy over the weekend are that of Sands.

"The identification process for the body located on Mt. Baldy on June 24, 2023, has been completed and was positively identified as 65-year-old Julian Sands of North Hollywood. The manner of death is still under investigation, pending further test results," the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department said in a statement. "We would like to extend our gratitude to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly to try to locate Mr. Sands."

The British actor is best known for roles in films like 1985's A Room with a View, 1989's Warlock and 1990's Arachnophobia.

On television, Sands had roles on Smallville, 24 and Crossbones and he lent his voice to the animated series Jackie Chan Adventures.

He was previously married to journalist Sarah Sands, with whom he shared son Henry. He married author Evgenia Citkowitz in 1990, and they had daughters Natalya and Imogen.

Authorities shared a statement on Twitter from the Sands family last week, in which they said they were "deeply grateful to the search teams and coordinators who have worked tirelessly to find Julian" over the past five months.

Related: Julian Sands' Family Says 'We Continue to Hold' Him 'in Our Hearts' 5 Months After He Went Missing

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"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," his family added at the time.

Sands, who appeared in well over 100 onscreen roles during an acting career that began in the 1980s, was first reported missing in the Baldy Bowl area on Jan. 13, by his wife Evgenia.

Search and rescue crews previously were not successful in locating Sands in the immediate days following his disappearance, though the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said as early as Jan. 23 that it would "continue to utilize the resources" it has at its disposal.

The actor's brother Nick said in January that he believed Julian, whom he affectionately calls "Jules," was "gone," telling the Craven Herald & Pioneer on Jan. 24, "He has not yet been declared missing, presumed dead, but I know in my heart that he has gone."

Related: Everything to Know About Actor Julian Sands' Disappearance as He's Confirmed Dead

"However, sibling rivalry being what it is, it would be just like him to walk out of there and prove me wrong," Nick added.

Sands most recently appeared alongside his friend and costar John Malkovich in the movie Seneca: On the Creation of Earthquakes, which had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February.

The actor also recently starred in a movie titled The Piper, released this year, and has three additional projects in post-production, according to IMDb.

Related: John Malkovich Reacts to His 'Close' Friend Julian Sands' Disappearance: 'Very Sad Event'

An avid hiker, Sands told The Guardian in 2020 that a "remote peak in the high Himalayas, such as Makalu" topped his bucket list — and that the closest he'd ever come to death was during an excursion in the Andes Mountains in the early 1990s, when he and three others were "caught in an atrocious storm above 20,000 feet."

"We were all in a very bad way. Some guys close to us perished; we were lucky," he added.

In the same interview, Sands said his greatest fear is "inactivity, immobility, ill health and boredom," and added that he is happiest when he is "close to a mountain summit on a glorious cold morning."

He also told The Guardian at the time that he would like to be remembered as "an interesting, amusing father by my children." Sands also noted that life is "short" so "be nice and grab it with both hands."

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