The cause of British actor Julian Sands’ death was officially declared “undetermined” on Monday.
The 65-year-old Sands’ remains were found last month in a mountain area in southern California after he had been missing for five months.
“The cause (of his death) is undetermined due to the condition the body was in and because no other factors were discovered during the post-mortem examination,” said a spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Coroner.
This is apparently common when dealing with cases of this nature.
“This is the final determination that has been made.”
Sands, an avid hiker and mountain climber, disappeared on January 13 when he wanted to climb Mount San Antonio, known locally as Mount Baldy, east of Los Angeles. He was alone. The mountain peak is about 3,000 m high. The region experienced many storms during the US winter season.
The actor’s brother, Nick, said two weeks after search efforts began that he had accepted that Sands would not be found alive.
Sands rose to fame for his role as George Emerson in the Academy Award-winning 1985 adaptation of EM Forster’s novel A Room with a View. He also appeared in Roland Joffe’s 1984 Oscar-winning drama set in Cambodia, The Killing Fields.
Sands has also appeared in several theater productions, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in David Hare’s play Stuff Happens.
He married the writer Evgenia Citkowitz in 1990. He leaves behind three children, including a son by his previous wife, the British journalist Sarah Sands.
