JULIAN Sands' car has been found in the search for the missing Brit actor after he vanished on a hike six days ago.
Keen mountaineer Julian, 65, went missing while climbing Mount Baldy near LA in California on Friday.
The actor is known for his roles in hit movies such as A Room With A View - where he starred alongside Helena Bonham Carter - and Leaving Las Vegas.
His family had reported him missing last Friday at 7.30pm when he didn't return home from his hike.
The San Gabriel Mountains where the dad-of-three was hiking were hit by heavy snow and ice over the weekend.
R&B star Anita Pointer of The Pointer Sisters dies aged 74
Julian's old friend and movie producer Cassian Elwes, 63, told The Sun that his car was found in a car park on the same day he went missing.
The snow-covered vehicle was towed away on Wednesday night.
Rescue teams have sent up helicopters and drones to scour the mountainous area just 40 miles from LA - where Julian has lived since 2020.
But the desperate search for the star has been hampered by severe weather and a high risk of avalanches since Saturday.
Cassian said Julian was meant to be doing a day-long hike, and his family phoned emergency services when he didn't return home.
“He went out on Friday and his family reported it when he didn’t come back," he told The Sun.
“One of our mutual friends called me on Friday and told me that they had found the car and they hadn’t heard from him. The car was still in the parking lot.
“As far as I know he had gone hiking on his own.
“They can’t even get up there to search apparently because the weather conditions are so bad up there.
“Even though it’s sunny in Los Angeles right now they had four feet of snow on Sunday apparently."
Ken Block’s craziest Top Gear stunts from biker race to drifting as star dies
Cassian called the situation "incredibly sad".
"It’s shocking and it’s not because he’s a great adventurer," he said.
"He likes going out and risking everything - maybe not risking everything, but he’s an adventurer.
"He’s climbed all kinds of mountains. He is that guy, the guy that goes out and does stuff, the things all of us sit at home and dream about, he has done it all.
"That’s why we all love him. He had gone around the world climbing mountains and is an experienced climber.
"It’s incredibly sad. Mount Baldy was apparently having the worst storms imaginable over the weekend.
"We’re all in shock, it’s just mind boggling."
Cassian added: "We’re all saying our prayers, all his friends are rallying around each other.
“We’re praying that there’s a positive outcome, even knowing that it’s a very bad situation."
Cassian described Julian as "one of the greatest human beings ever".
He added: "He’s fun, charming, smart and funny. You need funny people in your life.
“He’s the kind of person you might not see for a little bit but when you see each you’re straight back to where you were last time.
He had gone around the world climbing mountains and he is an experienced climber
Cassian Elwes
“I’m saying prayers every hour and hoping for the best."
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said "severe weather on the mountain has been difficult" and air resources are limited.
They said: "On Friday at about 7.30pm, a hiker identified as 65-year-old Julian Sands of North Hollywood, was reported missing in the Baldy Bowl area of Mt. Baldy.
"Search and rescue crews responded and began a search.
"Due to trail conditions and the risk of avalanche, the ground crews were pulled off the mountain on Saturday evening.
"However, we continue to search by helicopter and drones when weather permits.
"We will schedule another ground search when the weather improves, and it is safe for our ground crews."
Julian was born in England, but had been living in the North Hollywood area.
He has two daughters with the journalist Evgenia Citkowitz, who he married in 1990.
He has a son with his first wife Sarah Sands - the former editor of the Sunday Telegraph and the Evening Standard.
American actress and dancer Melanie Kinnaman called for "prayers for his safe return".
She said: "Our friend Julian Sands has been missing from a hiking trip in the mountains of Southern California for nearly one week.
"There is an active search for him in the Mt Baldy area. Please send prayers for his safe return."
Rescue teams are also searching for another hiker, California resident Bob Gregory.
And two hikers have died in recent weeks in the Mount Baldy area of California's San Gabriel mountains.
Mum-of-four Crystal Paula Gonzalez is understood to have slipped and plunged 700ft down the Baldy Bowl.
Jarret Choi, 43, from LA, was also hiking the Ice House Canyon trail when he fell near the Ice House Saddle ridge line.
His body was found two days later.
Police warned: "Please know the current conditions on Mt Baldy are adverse and extremely dangerous.
"Due to the high winds, the snow has turned to ice making hiking extremely dangerous."
