New Delhi: After human remains were found by hikers in mountains close to Los Angeles over the weekend, California police announced on Tuesday that the body of missing British-born actor Julian Sands had been identified. Five months after going missing while out on a hike in Southern California's snow-covered mountains, the actor, best known for his part in the Oscar-nominated film 'A Room with a View', was found dead. He was 65.


On Mount San Antonio, which rises to a height of 10,000 feet (3,000 metres), also known locally as Mount Baldy, Sands went missing in January. Hikers reportedly found mainly skeletal human remains on June 25 in the area where the actor had gone missing. 


"The identification process for the body located on Mt. Baldy on June 24, 2023, has been completed and was positively identified as 65-year-old Julian Sands of North Hollywood," San Bernardino Sheriff's Department said in a statement.


According to a statement from the department, the cause of his death is still being investigated. 


The actor, an avid hiker and climber, stated in a 2020 interview with The Guardian that he felt happiest when he was "close to a mountain summit on a glorious cold morning." The San Gabriel Mountains' highest peak, where Sands disappeared, is a popular getaway for people from Los Angeles.


Julian Sands was born and brought up in England. The British actor was best known for his part in the 1985 Oscar-winning picture 'A Room with a View'. He had a career spanning 40 years and more than 150 performances. He has made appearances in films like 'The Killing Fields', 'Leaving Las Vegas', 'Ocean's Thirteen', 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', and 'Oxford Blues'.


Sarah Harvey, a British author and journalist, and Sands were married from 1984 until 1987. They have a son. Later, in 1990, the actor married Evgenia Citkowitz, an American writer and journalist. The couple had two daughters.


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