Actor John Malkovich has described the disappearance of friend and co-star Julian Sands as a “very sad event”.

Sands, 65, was reported missing in the Mount Baldy area of the San Gabriel mountains in California more than five weeks ago.

The British actor failed to return from a hike and his hiking partner Kevin Ryan said at the time that it was obvious “something has gone wrong”.

Phone pings appeared to show he was on the move two days after he was reported missing.

There have been a number of searches, on foot and from the air, with state and federal agencies involved, but he has yet to be found.

Speaking at a press conference at the Berlin International Film Festival, Malkovich, who is set to star alongside Sands in the upcoming German-Moroccan historical drama Seneca, said he was “very close” to the actor.

“I’m a godfather to his son from his first wife, Sarah, who I know very well, and I introduced him to his second wife,” he said.

“We were close forever, ever since we met in 1983 on the set of The Killing Fields. It’s a very sad event.”

Sands was previously married to Sarah, a former editor of the London Evening Standard and BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, in 1987 and is now married to playwright Evgenia Citkowitz.

Authorities have vowed to “bring closure” to the actor’s family, after more than five weeks of searching.

The San Bernardino sheriff’s department said on Monday that further ground searches for Sands over the weekend had yielded no results.

The force added that an imminent storm in the region meant that search efforts would now be delayed “for some time”.

“On 18 February, over 20 members of the Fontana sheriff’s station and the West Valley search and rescue team conducted a ground search in the Mt Baldy area,” a spokesperson said.

“The crew members focused on the area where the California Highway Patrol’s Recco device hit on a possible electronic device on 25 January.

“Unfortunately, nothing was found that would lead to the discovery of Mr Sands.

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“With the imminent storm approaching, ground searches for Mr Sands will be delayed for some time.”

The spokesperson added: “Our goal is to bring closure to the family of Mr Sands and, when we can, we will try this again.”

The sheriff’s department previously said it remained “hopeful” of finding the actor, but admitted that the outcome of the searches may now “not be what we would like”.

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The actor’s family have praised the “heroic” efforts of Californian authorities involved in the searches, and were “deeply touched” by the support they had received.

Sands was born in Yorkshire and moved to Los Angeles in 2020.

He has starred in films such as Warlock, Room With A View and Leaving Las Vegas, along with roles on TV programmes Smallville and 24.

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