Authorities have found a hiker who went missing on Mount Baldy in California. Their search for Julian Sands continues nearly two weeks after he embarked on a hike at the same mountain.
On Tuesday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff announced in a release that Jim Chung, 75, has been located alive.
The Los Angeles man “suffered some weather-related injuries and a leg injury but was able to walk out with the assistance of the crew members,” the sheriff’s department said.
He was taken to a hospital. The sheriff’s department did not share details on his condition.
The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department also noted that authorities still use “ground and air search efforts” to find Sands, 65.
“As of this time, Mr. Sands has not been found, and no evidence of his current location has been discovered. The search will continue, weather and ground conditions permitting,” the sheriff’s department said.
The actor’s brother Nick Sands has spoken out and said he believes Julian, whom he affectionately calls “Jules,” is “gone.”
“He has not yet been declared missing, presumed dead, but I know in my heart that he has gone,” Nick told the Craven Herald & Pioneer.
“However sibling rivalry being what it is, it would be just like him to walk out of there and prove me wrong,” he added.
Nick has not seen Julian since October. The two and their other three brothers — Quentin, Robin, and Jeremy — were supposed to reunite on Monday, Jan. 30, for a special brothers’ gathering.
“On Monday, he had planned to join his brothers for our Monday Club for a beer in Skipton; he will be missed, and I guess we will raise a glass to him,” Nick said.
Mount Baldy, a popular hiking spot, is an hour’s drive from downtown Los Angeles but has often proven deadly.
Nick shared with the outlet that the mountain served as one of Julian’s favorites.
When in LA, the Mt. Baldy mountain range was his favorite place. He would go there as often as possible; Julian liked to say, ‘I have never had a holiday, but I do rest occasionally,'” Nick said. “Well, he’s resting now in a place he would truly approve of.”
Nick spoke about Julian’s love of hiking, “It was the hills and mountains where Julian really revived, hiking in the Yorkshire Dales leading on to him climbing iconic mountains like the Matterhorn and the Eiger, technically challenging but high reward.”
Julian’s wife, Eugenia Citkowitz — whom he married in 1990 — reported him missing on Friday, Jan. 13.
In its release, the sheriff’s department said that professional and inexperienced hikers alike could “underestimate” the power of the severe weather and high winds they face on Mount Baldy. The same weather can also make it risky for volunteer rescuers and authorities who are trying to find missing and injured hikers.
The sheriff’s department urged hikers to “avoid hazardous mountainous areas, such as Mt. Baldy, at this time.”
