Actor Julian Sands reported missing 5 days in Southern California's storm-lashed San Gabriel Mountains
Julian Sands, the British actor who starred in A Room With A View (1985), Naked Lunch (1991), Boxing Helena (1993), and Leaving Las Vegas (1995), among other movies, has been missing for five days in Southern California's San Gabriel Mountains, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said Wednesday. Sands, 65, was reported missing Friday in the Mt. Baldy area, and search and rescue crews had to suspend their search Saturday due to poor trail conditions and avalanche risks from recent heavy rains.
The search for Sands, a resident of North Hollywood, has continued with helicopters and drones, and ground searches will continue when conditions are deemed safe enough, San Bernardino Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Gloria Huerta said. People should avoid the Mt. Baldy area, which is currently "much too dangerous, even for the skilled hiker," she added.
"Mt. Baldy is considered one of the most dangerous peaks to climb in the United States," the Los Angeles Times reports. "In recent years, its icy terrain has led to the deaths of several experienced hikers," including two hikers who died on the mountain since Dec. 28. Sands himself is "an avid mountaineer" who "once conducted an entire interview from the face of the Mittellegi Ridge on the Eiger Mountain in the Swiss Alps," the Times notes.
A second hiker, Bob Gregory, has been missing in the Crystal Lake area of the San Gabriel Mountains since Monday.
Park rangers and outdoor experts have warned people to avoid hiking in the hills and mountains around Los Angeles until rivers and streams subside and paths dry out and are cleared following weeks of brutal winter rains, the Times reports. But some hikers have ignored the warnings. "You have a situation where streams are swollen, you have natural seepage on the paths, and rivers are roaring," said Mike Leum, a longtime volunteer search and rescue leader for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "But you go outside and it's sunny, and that's very attractive for city dwellers."
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