February 12, 2013 - 04:20 pm
Updated: February 13, 2013 - 03:13 pm
BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) - Police scoured mountain peaks for days, using everything from bloodhounds to helicopters equipped with high-tech search equipment in their manhunt for a revenge-seeking ex-cop. They had no idea he was so close, possibly holed up in a vacation cabin across the street from their command post.Updated: February 13, 2013 - 03:13 pm
It was there that Christopher Dorner may have taken refuge last Thursday, four days after beginning a deadly rampage that claimed four lives.
The search ended Tuesday when a man believed to be Dorner bolted from hiding, stole two cars, barricaded himself in another vacant cabin miles away and mounted a last stand in a furious shootout in which he killed one sheriff's deputy and wounded another before the building erupted in flames.
He never emerged from the ruins, and hours later a charred body was found in the basement of the burned cabin along with a wallet and personal items, including a California driver's license with the name Christopher Dorner, an official briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.
The coroner's office is studying the remains to positively determine the identity. It was not clear how the cabin caught fire.
Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Andrew Neiman said Wednesday the agency had returned to normal patrol operations but about a dozen of the more than 50 protective details guarding possible Dorner targets would remain in place until the remains are positively identified.
"This really is not a celebration," he said.
Neiman would not answer any questions regarding what occurred in the mountains of San Bernardino County the previous day, saying it was that jurisdiction's investigation.
LAPD officers used the Internet to monitor radio chatter during the shootout.
"It was horrifying to listen to that firefight and to hear those words. 'Officer down' is the most gut-wrenching experience that you can have as a police officer," Neiman said.
Dorner, 33, had said in a lengthy rant that police believe he posted on Facebook last week that he expected to die in one final, violent confrontation with police, and if it was him in the cabin that's what happened.
The apparent end came in the same mountain range where his trail went cold six days earlier, when his burning pickup truck - with guns and camping gear inside - was abandoned with a broken axle on a fire road in San Bernardino National Forest near the ski resort town of Big Bear Lake.
His footprints led away from the truck and vanished on frozen soil. Deputies searched door-to-door in the city of Big Bear Lake and then, in a blinding snowstorm, SWAT teams focused on hundreds of vacant cabins in the forest outside of town.
With no sign of him and few leads, police offered a $1 million reward to bring him to justice and end a "reign of terror" that had more than 50 families of targeted Los Angeles police officers under round-the-clock protection after he threatened to bring "warfare" to the LAPD, officers and their kin.
Just a few hours after police announced Tuesday that they had fielded more than 1,000 tips with no sign of Dorner, word came that a man matching his description had tied up two people in a Big Bear Lake cabin, stole their car and fled.
Lt. Patrick Foy of the California Fish and Wildlife Department, which aided the search, said two housekeepers surprised Dorner in the cabin when they came to clean it Tuesday morning. The women were tied up but one was able to free herself and call 911, Foy said.
Fish and Wildlife wardens spotted the Nissan that had been reported stolen going in the opposite direction and gave chase, Foy said. The driver looked like Dorner.
Christopher Dorner manhunt ends at burned-out cabin – as it happened
Two deputies with the San Bernardino sheriff's department were shot and wounded in Big Bear, north-east of Los Angeles.
Local news reports said Dorner had broken into a home, tied up two people and stolen a pickup truck. Dorner was then confronted on a highway by fish and game wardens before fleeing on foot. He is now holed up in a cabin, according to the San Bernadino's sheriff's office.
News outlets, including CBS Los Angeles, aired the sounds of gunfire and shouting in live broadcasts from the Big Bear area.
Dorner is accused of targeting law enforcement officers and their families in three revenge-driven killings.
He had posted a lengthy online "manifesto" explaining agrudge against the LAPD, which fired him in 2008. It named dozens of people; since then, many officers have been given 24-hour protection.
On February 3 he is alleged to have shot dead Monica Quan, 28, the daughter of a retired police captain, and her fiancé Keith Lawrence, 27.
Four days later he allegedly ambushed two other officers at a traffic light, killing one, Michael Crain, 34, a veteran, and wounding the other, a trainee.
The net now appears to be closing in on Dorner. We will have live updates as the story develops.
Confirmed: two police officers airlifted to hospital San Bernardino county sheriff’s department has issued a statement confirming that two police officers have been airlifted to hospital after an “exchange of gunfire between law enforcement and the suspect”.
Dorner has fled into the forest, according to police, and “barricaded himself in a cabin”, the department said in an email.
The sheriff's department said deputies responded to an address on Club View Drive after a call out regarding a stolen vehicle. The person who contacted police said the suspect bore a similarity to Dorner.
The suspect appears to have left the vehicle and continued on foot before exchanging fire with police.
Here is the full statement from San Bernardino county sheriff's department:
On Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 12:22 p.m, deputies working the Big Bear area search for Christopher Dorner responded to the 1200 block of Club View Dr. for a reported stolen vehicle. The reporting party said the suspect took their vehicle and described the suspect as looking very similar to Dorner. Deputies immediately began a search on the ground and from the air for the vehicle.
On Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 12:22 p.m, deputies working the Big Bear area search for Christopher Dorner responded to the 1200 block of Club View Dr. for a reported stolen vehicle. The reporting party said the suspect took their vehicle and described the suspect as looking very similar to Dorner. Deputies immediately began a search on the ground and from the air for the vehicle.
The vehicle was located at Hwy. 38 and Glass Rd. The suspect fled into the forest and barricaded himself inside a cabin. A short time later there was an exchange of gunfire between law enforcement and the suspect. Sheriff’s SWAT is onscene.Two law enforcement officers are being airlifted to a local hospital with unknown injuries.
Flight restrictions imposed above area
The Federal Aviation Administration has implemented "Temporary Flight Restrictions" around Big Bear due to ongoing situation. Only law enforcement aircraft are permitted to fly in the restricted area.
The no-fly-zone area is 5 miles in radius, from the ground up to 13,000 feet above sea level.
Updated
A CBS LA reporter was close to the area where gunfire was exchanged earlier this afternoon. The news channel continued to broadcast live as shots rang out.
Here's an extract from the transcript of the conversation between reporter Carter Evans and anchor Sandra Mitchell, as Evans apparently gets caught up in midst of a police manoeuvre. Evans has been broadcasting since this incident.
CARTER: We’re trying to, we’re not moving from ourvehicle, because this is a very fluid situation. We’re staying here, we don’t want to get caught in the crossfire ourselves.UNIDENTIFIED: Hey you! Come here!CARTER: Me?UNIDENTIFIED: You! Come here! [Unintelligible][SOUND OF RAPID-FIRE GUNFIRE]UNIDENTIFIED: Hey! Get the f— out of here now![Unintelligible][SOUND OF GUNFIRE][Unintelligible yelling][SOUND OF GUNFIRE]
The LA Times has spoken to the owner of the cabin where Christopher Dorner has apparently taken shelter.
Candy Martin said she was "in a state of shock" after seeing her vacation cabin in Big Bear surrounded by police. The cabin is in a cluster of seven cabins close to Highway 38. Dorner had reportedly stolen a vehicle from a different cabin earlier in the day.
Local media are reporting 200 police officers have surrounded the cabin.
From the Times:
Candy Martin was sitting down for an episode of "Walking Dead" with her daughter when she turned on the news and saw her Big Bear-area vacation cabin surrounded by police amid reports of a shootout involving the wanted fugitive Christopher Dorner.Her son called police to let them know she was the owner of the 85-year-old cabin, one in a cluster of seven cabins that she owns along California 38 near the community of Seven Oaks. Martin talked to police, telling them the cabins were supposed to be empty Monday and had no cable, phone or Internet service. There were also no firearms inside, she said."I was basically in a state of shock," Martin said.[...]Martin said her sisters spent time in the main cabin over the weekend. She said she wasn't surprised Dorner was able to make his way inside -- the old cabins "are easy to get into," she said."It's quite shocking," she said. "I mean, it's good and bad news. If it is him, I hope that they catch him and this whole horrible thing is put to rest. At the same time, who wants this happening on their property?"
Updated
The San Bernardino county sheriff's department is asking all members of the press to stop tweeting immediately. The San Bernardino district attorney has posted that request to Twitter.
The sheriff has asked all members of the press to stop tweeting immediately. It is hindering officer safety.#Dorner— SB District Attorney (@sbcountyda) February 12, 2013
The mayor of Big Bear Lake has confirmed to CBS that a deputy was killed in the exchange of gunfire this afternoon. A number of other news outlets are reporting the death.
Officer confirmed dead
One sheriff's deputy has been killed, John McMahon from San Bernardino county sheriff's department has just confirmed at a news conference.
A brief exchange of gunfire occurred. One of our deputies was injured and unfortunately one of our deputies passed away as a result of his injuries.
McMahon said the injured officer is “in surgery, but he should be fine”.
Updated
Cabin on fire
The cabin where Dorner was said to have been holed-up in Big Bear has been engulfed by flames. Earlier up to 200 police officers were said to have been outside the building, guns drawn.
San Bernardino county sheriff spokeswoman Cindy Bachman has just held a brief news conference as the cabin in Big Bear continues to burn.
"I have not been advised that there are any hostages involved in this current situation," Bachman says.
Asked whether police can be sure that it is Christopher Dorner in the cabin, Bachman responds: "We have reason to believe that it is him. The victims who had their car stolen reported to us that that suspect matched Christopher Dorner."
She says she does not know who started the fire. She said she did not know when authorities might attempt to enter the cabin.
Bachman is asked about injuries to other officials. "I'm only aware of our two deputy sheriffs that were shot," she says.
Updated
Cindy Bachman from San Bernardino county sheriff's departmenthas just been interviewed by local news channel KCAL9.
"We do believe [Dorner] is still inside," Bachman says. She is asked if the man could have escaped the building.
"I only have information that the investigators there have given me and they believe he is inside."
She said authorities have brought in powerful lights as darkness begins to fall.
Updated
LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa speaks to media from downtown LA.
“Our hearts and prayers are with the San Bernardino deputy who was shot and killed today. Our prayers are with their family and with the people of San Bernardino, with the sheriffs department of that county.”
Villaraigosa says he will not comment on the specifics of what happened this afternoon and the ongoing situation in Big Bear.
“I want to say something about the men and women and the children who were targeted," he says. "None of us can imagine what they've had to go through, what their children have had to go through because of the threats of Christopher Dorner.”
Man did not emerge from cabin fire
Adding to Cindy Bachman's press conference earlier, Associated Pressreports that the man believed to be fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner never came out of the Big Bear mountain cabin.
Citing an anonymous law enforcement official AP says that a single shot was heard inside the cabin before it was engulfed in flames.
Summary
• Authorities believe fugitive Christopher Dorner was inside a Big Bear log cabin as it was engulfed by flames on Thursday afternoon. A spokeswoman forSan Bernardino sheriff's department said investigators believed the man was inside the building as a fire raged for more than two hours.
• One deputy sheriff is dead, another injured after an exchange of gunfire with a man believed to be Christopher Dorner.Authorities are yet to name either deputy, but said the second was expected to live after undergoing surgery at Linda Loma hospital.
• LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has said the city's "hearts and prayers" are with the family of the deputy shot and killed today. In a news conference he added that "none of us can imagine" what the families threatened by Dorner "have had to go through".
• Dorner had allegedly tied up two occupants of a different cabin in Big Bear before stealing their car early on Thursday. The victims called police, which began the localised hunt for Dorner, who had been on the run since killing a retired police chief's daughter and her fiance on 3 February.
Body found in cabin
There are numerous reports that a body has been found in the cabin where a man believed to be fugitive Christopher Dorner was holed up.
The Associated Press reported that the body was "charred". A fire at the cabin was left to burn by officials for over two hours this evening.
It is likely to be some time before the body is officially identified but authorities had said earlier that they believed the man in the cabin was Dorner.
The Los Angeles police department has scheduled a news conference for midnight ET.
Updated
The police chief of Riverside county, Sergio Diaz, whose officers were involved in the search, has confirmed that the body found inside the cabin was that of the fugitive former police officer Christopher Dorner, according to the Press-Enterprise of Riverside. A statement from the San Bernardino county sheriff's department is expected soon.
Update: body not yet found
A press conference is under way in Los Angeles. LAPD police commander Andrew Smith corrects an earlier report from the Riverside County police chief that a body had been found and identified in the cabin. He says no body has been found, and indeed the fire in the cabin is so hot that officers have not been able to enter the cabin.
Updated
We're wrapping up our live blog coverage of this story now, with the news that Christopher Dorner is believed to have died in the cabin where he was holed up. Fire broke out after a shooutout with police. Authorities have been unable to confirm Dorner's death, however, as the wreckage of the cabin was too hot to enter. The LAPD said that if Dorner was indeed in the cabin when it was engulfed with flames, it may take days, or even weeks, to establish his identity for certain.
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