On January 13, Julian Sands set out on a dangerous hike up Mount Baldy in the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California. His family started to grow worried when he failed to return later that day, at which, point his wife contacted authorities and reported him missing. They’ve been searching for him ever since.

Unfortunately, the dangerous trail conditions and potential risk of an avalanche made it extremely difficult to execute a thorough search at the time – keep in mind, this was in the middle of January. They utilized helicopters, drones, and pings off Sands’ cell phone, but weren’t able to turn anything (or anyone) up.

Efforts to find Sands resumed on June 17, when authorities determined it was safe to continue. Those efforts have continued for the past week and the sheriff’s department has kept everyone updated. In a news release on Saturday (June 17), the sheriff’s department confirmed more than 80 volunteers, deputies, and staff members were assisted by two helicopters and drones as they continued their search for Julian Sands.

“Despite the recent warmer weather, portions of the mountain remain inaccessible due to extreme alpine conditions. Multiple areas include steep terrain and ravines, which still have 10 plus feet of ice and snow,” they said at the time – sharing several videos on Twitter of the helicopter and ground crews in action. Now more than six months after his disappearance, authorities finally have something. On Saturday (June 24), two hikers stumbled across human remains while hiking Mount Baldy – the same area Julian Sands went missing. The coroner’s office is now working to identify the remains and determine a cause of death.