The official cause of death for Julian Sands was revealed by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department on Monday, July 24.

The 65-year-old British actor’s body was discovered in late June, more than five months after he failed to return from a hike in California’s Mount Baldy region on January 13.

Coroners have now officially ruled Sands’ cause of death “unknown,” police said.

“The cause was ‘Unknown’ due to the condition of the body and since no other factors were discovered during the coroner’s investigation, which is often the case when dealing with cases of this type. This is final,” Mara Rodriguez, public information officer for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department of Investigations, told CNN in a statement Monday.

An extensive search was conducted to find Sands, a hiking enthusiast, but it was thwarted by bad weather conditions that persisted throughout the spring. Authorities said it had not yet been determined how he died.

A week before his remains were found, Sands’ family released a statement saying they would continue to hold him “in our hearts with bright memories”.

“We are extremely grateful to the search teams and dispatchers who worked tirelessly to find Julian,” reads a statement released by the sheriff’s department.

“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 a unique and collaborative performer.”

During his lifetime, Sands appeared in more than 150 films and television series, including several Academy Award winners.

The West Yorkshire-born actor started his career with supporting roles in projects like 1984 Oxford Blues And The field of deathin which he played journalist Jon Swain.

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Sands spent time with the real Swain preparing for the role, which later recounted Guard: “I was warned by [director Roland Joffé] to keep his distance from John because he is an unstable character.

“And John was asked by Roland to stay away from me, because I am a delicate, sensitive person who does not want to be distracted. In fact, we link immediately. We always quote and misquote Pinter to each other.”

It’s also on the set The field of death Sands first met John Malkovich, an actor with whom he formed a strong and lasting friendship.

Malkovich described Sands as “a Tarzan” and “a physical entity of a material force”.

“Julian is very wild and is never bound by rules or boundaries,” said a close friend of Sands. independence after he went missing. “He was a Byronesque romantic and an adventurer drawn to the extremes of nature, enjoying the freedom of the mountains he had conquered around the world.”

In 1985, Sands was cast in the lead role in the romantic drama Merchant Ivory . Room with View, opposite Helena Bonham Carter. The film received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, winning three.

Sands followed this up with a role in Ken Russell’s Gothicplays the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Around this time, Sands decided to move to America. He has resided in California since then, though frequently returns to Europe for filming.

After moving to the United States, Sands starred in a number of feature films, including the 1989 supernatural thriller. magician (and its 1993 sequel, Warlock: The Armageddon), movie series surprise (1991), horror-comedy Fear of spiders (1990), and the 1991 adaptation of William S Burroughs’ Lunch naked.

In 1995, Sands played a supporting role in leave las vegasalong with Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue, winning a Golden Globe for their efforts.

His later projects include a role with Jackie Chan in 2003 medaland a supporting part in David Fincher’s 2011 adaptation of The girl with the dragon tattoo.

He is survived by his wife, writer Evgenia Citkowitz, and their two sons; and another son, Henry, whom he shares with his first wife, journalist and editor Sarah Sands (née Harvey).