A ground search for missing actor Julian Sands is being planned imminently in the southern Californian mountains, before the arrival of another storm in the region.

Aerial divisions in southern California have continued to patrol the skies “intermittently” in the search for Julian Sands, as efforts to find the British actor reached the third-week mark.

Sands, 65, was reported missing more than two weeks ago after he failed to return from a hike in the Mount Baldy region.

Irish actor Kevin Ryan said Sands was a “smart guy” and “very strong-willed”, with lots of experience to tackle the treacherous conditions

High winds have again grounded helicopters in the search for British actor Julian Sands.

Attempts to find the actor are approaching the end of their second week

On Monday a spokesperson for the sheriff’s department told the PA news agency that conditions were still too dangerous for ground crews to operate, and that searches would be conducted by helicopter only.

Federal and state agencies in the US have joined the search for Julian Sands, using mobile phone forensics to help pinpoint the location of the British actor.

The phone belonging to British actor Julian Sands appears to show he was on the move, heading into a mountainous area in southern California, two days after he was reported missing.

Sands, 27, died in the early hours of May 5 1981 after 66 days on hunger strike

A prominent victims campaigner has called for the remembrance of those who were killed during the period of the 1981 hunger strikes in Northern Ireland.