Human remains near site where actor Julian Sands went missing

WASHIGTON, US - Hikers found human remains in California's Mount San Antonio area, local authorities said, around the same area where British actor Julian Sands went missing five months ago.

The remains were discovered in the wilderness on Saturday morning, San Bernardino Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

"Civilian hikers contacted the Fontana Sheriff's Station after they discovered human remains" near the mountain, it added.

The body was taken to the coroner's office to be identified, with the process expected to be completed next week.

Sands, who shot to fame in 1985 for his role in "A Room with a View", went missing in January on the 10,000-foot (3,000-meter) Mount San Antonio, known locally as Mount Baldy, just outside the city of Los Angeles.

The 65-year-old is an experienced hiker who has previously described himself as happiest "close to a mountain summit on a glorious cold morning." California was hit by a succession of heavy storms in December and January that brought heavy snow to mountain ranges, including to Mount San Antonio.

The peak where Sands disappeared is the highest in the San Gabriel Mountains and a popular destination for Los Angeles residents.

San Bernardino County Sheriff at the time said it was increasingly treacherous, with eight known deaths between 2017 and 2022.

The actor's brother, Nick, said two weeks after search efforts began that he had accepted Sands would not be found alive.

"He has not yet been declared missing, presumed dead, but I know in my heart that he has gone," he had said, according to English local media in Yorkshire, where the brothers grew up. - AFP