‘Warlock’ star confirmed dead in California mountains

Julian Sands went missing in the San Gabriel range northeast of Los Angeles in January

Human remains recovered over the weekend in California were of actor Julian Sands, the San Bernardino County sheriff’s department said on Tuesday. The 65-year old British-born actor loved hiking and was reported missing after visiting Mount Baldy in January.

Forensic specialists identified the remains, discovered by hikers on Saturday, as those of Sands, 65. 

“The manner of death is still under investigation, pending further test results,” the sheriff’s department noted, thanking the search-and-rescue crews and volunteers who spent months looking for the actor.

Sands was married to author and journalist Evgenia Citkowitz. They had two children. He also had a son from a previous marriage. 

“We continue to hold Julian in our hearts with bright memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world and the arts, and as an original and collaborative performer,” his family said in a statement to The Guardian on Saturday. 

Sands was a keen hiker and the Mount Baldy area was his favorite place, his brother told the British outlet Craven Herald & Pioneer in January. The San Gabriel mountain range separates the greater Los Angeles area and the Inland Empire from the Mojave Desert to the north. 

Born Julian Richard Morley Sands in the English county of Yorkshire, he played a notable supporting role in ‘The Killing Fields’ (1984) and was cast as the romantic lead in ‘A Room with a View’ (1985). Moving to Hollywood, Sands played the title role in Warlock (1989) and its 1993 sequel, with prominent roles in ‘Arachnophobia’ (1990), ‘Boxing Helena’ (1993) and ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ (1995). He also appeared opposite Jackie Chan in the action comedy ‘The Medallion’ in 2003.

Sands also appeared in a multitude of TV shows, most notably as a terrorist during the 2006 season of ‘24’ and as Superman’s father Jor-El in ‘Smallville’. His other notable TV credits included ‘Stargate SG-1’, ‘Person of Interest’, and ‘Dexter’, as well as voice work in the first two seasons of the ‘Jackie Chan Adventures’ animated series, and the video game ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 2’.