LOS ANGELES – Mountain rescuers in California who have been searching for Julian Sands for almost two weeks say there is still no sign of the British actor, as the missing man’s family acknowledged he may have perished.

Sands, who shot to fame in 1985 as actress Helena Bonham Carter’s love interest in A Room With A View, disappeared on Mount San Antonio, just outside of Los Angeles.

Deputies from the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department began searching for him after the alarm was raised on Jan 13, but said on Tuesday that they were no closer to finding him.

“The Sheriff’s Department is closing in on the second full week of the search for missing hiker, Julian Sands,” said a statement. “Numerous ground and air search efforts have taken place. As of this time, Mr Sands has not been found and no evidence of his location has been discovered.”

The statement added that “the search will continue, weather and ground conditions permitting”.

California was hit by a succession of heavy storms in late December and early January that brought heavy snow to mountain ranges, including to Mount San Antonio, known locally as Mount Baldy.

Sands’ brother, Nick, said he had now accepted that the actor would not be found.

“He has not yet been declared missing, presumed dead, but I know in my heart that he has gone,” he said, according to English newspaper Craven Herald & Pioneer, in Yorkshire where the brothers grew up.

‘Steep terrain, unpredictable weather’

“When in Los Angeles, the Mount Baldy mountain range was his favourite place, he would go there as often as he could,” he added.

“Julian liked to say, ‘I have never had a holiday, but I do rest occasionally’ – well he’s now resting in a place he would truly approve of.”

Nick Sands said the Warlock (1989) star had been due to be back in Britain next week.

The peak where Julian Sands disappeared is the highest in the San Gabriel mountains and is a popular destination for Los Angeles residents.

But San Bernardino County Sheriff said it was increasingly treacherous, with eight known deaths between 2017 and 2022.

“Many hikers, experienced or novice, underestimate the steep terrain, unpredictable weather, and high winds that present themselves in our mountain areas,” it said.

Sands, 65, is an experienced hiker who has previously described himself as happiest “close to a mountain summit on a glorious cold morning”.

In the early 1990s, he hiked through the Andes mountain range, getting caught in a storm above 6km.

Sands moved to Los Angeles after his breakout role as the plain-speaking George Emerson in A Room With A View, the adaptation of English writer E. M. Forster’s 1908 novel.

Over his varied career, Sands appeared in films as diverse as director Frank Marshall’s spider-themed horror romp Arachnophobia (1990), director David Cronenberg’s controversial Naked Lunch (1991) and the alcohol-soaked drama Leaving Las Vegas (1995), directed by Mike Figgis and starring Nicolas Cage. AFP