New US search for missing actor Julian Sands

Search efforts for the missing British actor Julian Sands have resumed after previous efforts were halted by dangerous weather conditions. 

Air searches are underway to find the missing 65-year-old who hasn’t been seen since he went hiking in the Baldy Bowl area of the San Gabriel Mountains, north of Los Angeles. 

California has been hit by deadly storms this winter. 

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department tweeted that it would use a helicopter from the California Highway Patrol which carries a device that can detect matching “reflective material, electronics, and in some cases, credit cards”.

It added that using the RECCO machine could help police “pinpoint an area where we can focus our search efforts”.

On Wednesday,  a second hiker who had gone missing in the same area was found alive.  

He was named locally as Jin Chung, 75  – an LA resident. He was reported missing for about 48 hours during which he suffered some “weather-related injuries and a leg injury,” the sheriff’s department said. 

Officials have urged hikers to avoid hazardous mountainous areas “regardless of precautions taken” saying that the conditions have made it “difficult to deploy resources to that area when a hiker goes missing”.

Avalanches in the area last week halted ground search and rescue efforts for Mr Sands. 

The actor’s family have thanked US authorities for their efforts in trying to find the actor, who has appeared in dozens of films and TV shows.

In a statement, the family praised the “heroic search teams” who are working through the difficult weather conditions “on the ground and in the air to bring Julian home”.

Julian Sands lives in the North Hollywood neighbourhood of Los Angeles with his wife and two kids. He was previously married to Sarah Sands, with whom he has a son.