Human remains have been discovered near Mount Baldy and taken to the coroner’s office for identification, five months after the disappearance of British actor Julian Sands, according to the Guardian.

Human remains were found by hikers in a Southern California mountain area where Julian Sands disappeared five months ago, authorities said.

The body was discovered around 10 a.m. Saturday in the desert near Mount Baldy and taken to the medical examiner’s office for identification, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

Sands, a 65-year-old avid hiker and climber, was reported missing on Jan. 13 after setting off for the summit at an elevation of more than 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) east of Los Angeles. The area was hit by severe storms during the winter.

On Friday, his family released their first statement since Sands’ disappearance. “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,” the statement said.

Sands, who is best known for his role in the 1985 film A Room with a View, is married to journalist Evgenia Citkowitz and has three grown children.

A June 17 search for Sands, the eighth organized search since his disappearance, was unsuccessful, authorities said.