authorities say there is still “no firm deadline” for calling off the search for Julian Sands, a week after the British actor was first reported missing in the Southern California mountains.
province of San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department said the incident was still classified as a search and rescue, though snow, sleet and fog continued to hamper foot operations.
As of Thursday evening, high-altitude visibility in the Mount Baldy area remained poor, and searches would continue when conditions permitted.
“We are planning another ground investigation when the weather improves and it is safe for our ground crew,” a spokesman for the department told the PA news agency.
The spokesperson added that there was “no hard deadline” for the cessation of search efforts and “no date set”.
Earlier on Thursday, Sands’ family towed his car from a parking lot where it was discovered during the search.
Residents of Mount Baldy noted the “extreme” conditions but said they “would not rule anything out” in the mission to find Sands.
“Conditions can be extreme and even as a resident we don’t hike this time of year…it’s sketchy, it can be very dangerous,” Stephanie Coyne told PA at Mount Baldy.
“In previous years, other people have gone missing and (people) are injured every year.”
Ms Coyne, who works at Mount Baldy ski resort, said the adverse weather conditions were “typical” for the time of year.
“People have been found, it can happen. I wouldn’t rule anything out – the whole situation is just unfortunate,” she said.
Sands was reported missing in the Baldy Bowl area of the San Gabriel mountains on the evening of January 13, while local authorities continued to deploy “helicopters and drones, weather permitting.”
Ms Coyne added that there had been other cases of walkers “falling” in the same area in recent weeks.
Jaqueline Miller-Weaver, another resident, who works at the Mount Baldy sled shop, told PA: “It’s really rough…the conditions are really bad.
“It’s very icy in some areas, even crampons wouldn’t help you,” she added.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department previously urged hikers to “think twice and heed warnings” following treacherous weather in the region, saying search and rescue teams had responded to 14 in the past four weeks calls on Mount Baldy and in the surrounding area.
The Yorkshire native Sands is known for his breakout role as a free spirited George in the period drama A Room With A View, in which he starred opposite Helena Bonham Carter, Sir Daniel Day-Lewis, Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith.
He also starred in Leaving Las Vegas and Warlock, and also appeared on television in 24, Smallville, and Banshee.
More recently, he played the chief medical officer in the 2021 Jack Lowden and Peter Capaldi-led drama Benediction.
He has been living in Los Angeles since 2020.
From 1984 to 1987, Sands was married to the future editor of the Evening Standard and Today, Sarah Sandswith whom he shares a son, while he also has two daughters with journalist Evgenia Citkowitz, whom he married in 1990.