Benediction actor Julian Sands identified as hiker missing in California

British actor Julian Sands has been reported as missing following a hiking trip last week.

The 65-year-old US-based actor was reported missing on Friday (13 January) following harsh weather conditions in the Baldy Bowl area, north-west of San Bernadino.

San Bernadino County Sheriff’s department officials responded to the missing person’s report via a search and rescue operation but were pulled off the southern California mountain due to avalanche risks.

“We continue to search by helicopter and drones when the weather permits,” it added in a statement.

The department’s search and rescue crew urged hikers to “think twice” about travelling across the mountain until the poor weather has subsided.

“Due to the high winds, the snow has turned to ice making hiking extremely dangers,” a statement read. “Sheriff’s Search and Rescue efforts are often hampered by poor weather along with dangerous avalanche conditions.”

It has responded to 14 rescue missions over the last month for hikers who have been lost or stranded due to the icy terrain.

Of these rescue missions, two hikers have died after falling and succumbing to their injuries. Several rescue operations remain ongoing.

Police said the ground searches for Julian Sands would continue once the weather has improved and conditions are safer for rescue crews.

The actor is best known for his work in films such as Warlock and A Room with a View, while also starring in the TV show Smallville.

Most recently, he starred as the chief medical officer in the 2021 LGBTQ+ drama Benediction, starring alongside Jack Lowden and Peter Capaldi, who both played older and younger versions of queer First World War poet Siegfried Sassoon.

Sands had been caught in a similarly dangerous storm in the early 90s while hiking across the Andes, saying that he was “lucky” to have survived it.

“We were all in a very bad way,” he said in an interview with Closer. “Some guys close to us perished – we were lucky.”