Search Underway After Actor Goes Missing While Hiking in California
As fierce winds howl and the snow whips about Mt. Baldy in California, officials have revealed that British actor Julian Sands has been missing on the mountain since last Friday.
Sands, who has appeared in TV shows such as “24” and films including “A Room with a View” and “Arachnophobia,” is also an avid mountaineer, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Gloria Huerta, a representative of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, said Sands was reported missing at about 7:30 p.m. on Friday, according to CNN.
Severe weather and the threat of avalanches have limited search efforts, she said, and drones are currently being used as part of the search effort.
Searchers are expected to return to the mountain once conditions improve, according to The Washington Post.
British actor Julian Sands identified as hiker missing in southern California https://t.co/bvRW6JmvbB
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 19, 2023
In a 2020 interview, Sands told the Guardian he was happiest “close to a mountain summit on a glorious cold morning.”
Topping his bucket list, he said at the time, was climbing “a remote peak in the high Himalayas, such as Makalu.”
During the interview, he recalled that “in the early 90s, in the Andes,” he was “caught in an atrocious storm above 20,000 feet with three others. We were all in a very bad way. Some guys close to us perished; we were lucky.”
In that interview, he philosophized about life, saying, “grab it with both hands, we know it is short.”
In a 2013 interview, he told the Yorkshire Post, “And, you know what? Mountain climbing and filmmaking are very connected. There’s always another mountain. And ultimately the point of climbing a mountain is that the mountain is within. And I think that’s true, too, of the acting experience.”
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office posted a warning about climbing the mountain on Facebook.
The post said Search and Rescue teams have been called for 14 missions in the past four weeks.
“Unfortunately, during these past 4 weeks, two hikers did not survive after falling and injuring themselves,” the post said.
The sheriff’s office sought to discourage climbers from trying their luck.
“Please know the current conditions on Mt Baldy are adverse and extremely dangerous. Due to the high winds, the snow has turned to ice making hiking extremely dangerous. Sheriff’s Search and Rescue efforts are often hampered by poor weather along with dangerous avalanche conditions,” the office posted.
“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.”
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