Officials say there is still “no hard deadline” for closing the search Julian Sandsafter one week British The actor was first reported missing in the mountains of Southern California.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said the incident is still being classified as a search and rescue operation, although snow, sleet and fog continued to hinder operations on foot.
Visibility at higher altitudes in the Mount Baldy area remained poor until Thursday evening, with plans to continue the search when conditions permitted.
“We will schedule another ground search when the weather improves, and it is safe for our ground crews,” a spokesman for the department told the PA news agency.
The spokesman said there was “no hard deadline” for the abandonment of search efforts and “no date has been set”.
Earlier on Thursday, Sands’ family had retrieved his car from a car park where it was found during a search.
Mount Baldy residents noted the “extreme” conditions, but said they would “not rule anything out” in the mission to find Sands.
Stephanie Coyne told PA on Mount Baldy, “Conditions can be extreme and even as a resident we don’t hike at this time of year … it’s incomplete, it can be very dangerous. “
“Others have gone missing in prior years and (people) are injured every year.”
Ms Coyne, who works at the Mount Baldy ski resort, said the adverse weather conditions were “typical” for the time of year.
“People have got it, it can happen. I won’t rule anything out – the whole situation is unfortunate,” she said.
Sand was reported missing in the Baldy Bowl area of the San Gabriel Mountains on the evening of January 13, with the search continuing by local authorities “by helicopters and drones when weather permits”.
Ms Coyne said there had been other instances of hikers “falling over” in the same area in previous weeks.
Jacqueline Miller-Weaver, another resident who works at the Mount Baldy sled shop, told PA: “It’s been really tough … the conditions are really bad.
“It’s really icy in some areas, even crampons won’t help you,” she said.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department had previously urged climbers to “think twice and heed warnings” after inclement weather in the area, saying its search and rescue teams have spent the past four weeks on Mount Baldy and the surrounding area. I answered 14 calls.
Yorkshire-born Sands is best known for his breakout role as the free-spirited George in the period drama A Room with a View, in which he starred opposite Helena Bonham CarterSir Daniel Day-Lewis, Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith.
He also starred in Leaving Las Vegas and Warlock, as well as television appearances in 24, Smallville and Banshee.
Most recently, he played the Chief Medical Officer in the 2021 drama Benediction, led by Jack Lowden and Peter Capaldi.
He lives in Los Angeles as of 2020.
From 1984 to 1987, Sands was married to the future Evening Standard and Today editor. sarah sandsWith whom he has a son, while he also has two daughters with journalist Evgenia Sitkowitz, whom he married in 1990.