BIG BEAR, Calif. — A body believed to be ex-LAPD officer turned whistleblower Christopher Dorner was found inside a burned out cabin near Big Bear ski resort in Southern California. Dorner was thought to have kept law enforcement authorities at bay before officers fired tear gas into the cabin, potentially causing the inferno that consumed Dorner, multiple media sources report.
The body, which was found in the charred rubble of the mountainside cabin, was not positively identified, the source said. The process of making a determination whether the body is that of the former Los Angeles Police Department officer could take hours or even days, the source said.
As authorities moved into the cabin earlier Tuesday, they heard a single gunshot.
According to a law enforcement source, police had broken down windows, fired tear gas into the cabin and blasted over a loud speaker urging Dorner to surrender. When they got no response, police deployed a vehicle to rip down the walls of the cabin “one by one, like peeling an onion,” a law enforcement official said.
By the time they got to the last wall, authorities heard a single gunshot, the source said. Then flames began to spread through the structure, and gunshots, probably set off by the fire, were heard.
As darkness descended on the mountainside, Dorner’s body had not been found, authorities said. Police were planning to focus their search in the basement area, the source said.
Dorner, a 33 year-old former Los Angeles Police Department officer and US Navy reservist, is alleged to have gone on a revenge killing spree for being retaliated against for whistle-blowing on corrupt and racist LAPD officials. He has been charged in the February 7 killing of Riverside, CA Officer Michael Crain and is wanted in connection with a string of related crimes. Authorities also believe he may be linked to a February 3 double-murder in nearby Irvine, but Dorner had managed to elude police until now.