Julian Sands, 'Room with a View' Star, Declared Dead — Human Remains IDed

The long wait for closure is over for missing actor Julian Sands' family — human remains discovered this weekend by hikers in California's Mount Baldy wilderness have been positively identified as those of the British actor.

The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department said via statement Tuesday, "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."

While a cause of death is "still under investigation, pending further test results," the news will allow Sands' loved ones to know his fate.

"We would like to extend our gratitude to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly to locate Mr. Sands," the statement went on.

Authorities on Saturday had provided a grim update in the search, which had been underway since the "Room with a View" actor vanished in January.

CNN reported at the time that authorities said in a statement, "Civilian hikers contacted the Fontana Sheriff’s Station after they discovered human remains in the Mt. Baldy wilderness."

Positive identification was expected to take about a week, but came through much sooner.

Sands went missing while hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of L.A. The final pings from his cellphone came from the same area where the remains were found, but discovery of his remains eluded authorities.

The extensive search for the 65-year-old actor had been hindered by the area's remote location and by poor weather conditions.

In April, Sands' son Henry told the U.K. outlet The Times he was “realistic” about the search efforts, noting, “The weather conditions over the last three months — it's been a 40-year snowfall record in California."

He explained, "There is nothing really further to say at this point other than to reinforce my deepest gratitude for the love and support my family and I have received.”

Henry continued, "I am hugely appreciative for all the efforts made so far from the volunteer search and rescue climbers and the San Bernardino County Sheriff team to bring my father home.”

He added, "I look forward to the search resuming as soon as the weather improves and the ground conditions are safe and feasible to do so.”

Sands was known for his many movie and TV roles, including “A Room with a View” (1985), "Gothic" (1986), "Siesta" (1987), "Vibes" (1988), "Warlock" (1989), “Arachnophobia” (1990), "Naked Lunch" (1991), “Leaving Las Vegas" (1995), and appearances on such TV series as "24" (2006) and "Smallville" (2009-2010).

Sands is survived by his wife of 30-plus years Evgenia Citkowitz, his two daughters with her, and by his son from his first marriage, to British author Sarah Sands.