Julian Sands had spoken of finding "spooky things" while hiking in the same mountains he later died in, it has been revealed.
The actor, 65, was declared missing after failing to return from a hike in the Mount Baldy area of the San Gabriel mountains in California on Friday, January 13.
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office began searching the area around the popular Baldy Bowl trail, which is 4.5 miles long and ascends 3,900 feet to the highest summit in the San Gabriel Mountains, but their efforts were made more difficult due to the threat of an avalanche, meaning drones were employed to find the missing star.
Sands was confirmed to have died after a body was found on the mountain on June 24, which was positively identified as him.
In an interview shortly before his death, Sands had opened up about the things he had encountered while hiking, which included finding human remains.
The British actor, who was known for starring in films including Ocean's Thirteen, Arachnophobia, and Room With A View, shared his thoughts on the dangers of hiking just weeks before his death.
He told the Radio Times: "I've found spooky things on mountains, when you know you’re in a place where many people have lost their lives, whether it be on the Eiger or in the Andes, you may be confronted with human remains and that can be chilling."
Sands added: "It’s not necessarily supernatural, it’s possibly all too natural – what I would call hypernatural. You’re in the presence of big nature and big nature is revealing itself in all its power.
"It can take us over a threshold of hypersensitivity into a realm of natural forces."
He added in the same interview, which took place late last year, that he was finding it harder to find people to accompany him on his adventures, partly due to "age" and "partly because they find, with climate change, the rock faces have become much more unstable".
Sands explained: "If you don't really have the desire, the focus for climbing a route, if you're not absolutely committed, it becomes much more dangerous and it's a much more deflating experience.
"Finding folk whose company I enjoy in such stressful and intimate conditions is not easy."
The father-of-three's body was finally found five months after he disappeared, with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department saying in a statement: "The identification process for the body located on Mt. Baldy on June 24, 2023, has been completed and was positively identified as 65-year-old Julian Sands of North Hollywood.
"The manner of death is still under investigation, pending further test results. We would like to extend our gratitude to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly to locate Mr. Sands."
Sands is survived by his son Henry from his previous marriage to journalist Sarah Harvey and daughters Imogen and Natalya with his wife Evgenia Citkowitz.