By Mariela Limon |Staff Writer|
The manhunt for alleged killer Christopher Dorner came to an end last Tuesday afternoon after a mountain side gun battle with local authorities in Big Bear that resulted in his death.
Dorner barricaded himself in a cabin that went up in flames after an extensive shootout with police.
San Bernardino County sheriff officials announced Thursday night that the remains found in the burned down cabin did indeed belong to the ex-LAPD Christopher Dorner.
According to the Associated Press, Jodi Miller, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County sheriff-coroner, said the identification was made through Dorner’s dental records. Miller did not give a cause of death.
Prior to the shootout, several news stations across southern California reported that around 12:25 p.m. a man resembling Dorner had stolen a car from a home in the Big Bear area.
Local authorities believed that Dorner may have been hiding in an empty condo in proximity to the sheriffs command post located close to where his burnt car was found on Feb. 7.
It was later confirmed that the couple who owned the condo Dorner resided in since Friday had been held hostage by Dorner only for a few minutes before fleeing with their car.
Rick Heltebrake, a resident of Big Bear, was driving near the area when he saw the man who resembled Dorner emerge from the woods. Dorner proceeded to carjack the man’s car and fled.
According to the police, Dorner was then spotted by California Fish and Wildlife officers, a pursuit ensued and gunfire was exchanged.
A report released by NBC described the incident: “The truck driven by the man resembling Dorner veers off the road and the man runs into the woods. The pursuit quickly leads to a cabin in a collection of mountain rental homes in unincorporated Angelus Oaks on which authorities descend. Some 500 rounds of gunfire area exchanged and one sheriff’s deputy is killed and another injured.”
Shortly after, a standoff between authorities and Dorner began.
“It was like a war zone, and our deputies continued to go into that area and tried to neutralize and stop the threat,” said San Bernardino Sheriff John McMahon in a CNN news release. “The rounds kept coming, but our deputies didn’t give up.”
The cabin engulfed in flames was viewed by thousands across Southern California as it burnt down.
The ex-cop’s remains were later found by law officials on the scene.
“We believe that this investigation is over at this point and we’ll just need to move on from here,” said McMahon.
The 10-day ordeal initially started with the murder of Monica Quan, the daughter of LAPD’s Randal Quan, and her fiancé Keith Lawrence in Irvine.
Officials later linked Dorner to the murders through his manifesto posted on Facebook.
Days later, Dorner was linked to the murder of Riverside officer Michael Clain and the armed assault of another Riverside officer.
During Tuesday’s exchange of gunfire, San Bernardino’s sheriff detective Jeremiah MacKay died and deputy Alex Collins was wounded.
Collins has undergone multiple surgeries and is expected to make a full recovery.
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