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| Recent image released by Irvine Police Deaprtment on February 8, 2013 shows suspect Christopher Jordan Dorner, in the double-homicide that occurred in Irvine on Feb. 3, 2013. |
Search team stymied by bad weather in the hunt for a fugitive ex-cop in the mountains east of Los Angeles counted on clearing weather Saturday morning to help them track down Christopher Dorner and put an end to his self-confessed killing spree.
The search by foot and armored vehicle was suspended during the night as snow continued to fall in the 7,000-foot elevation of Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino mountains.
Police swarmed into the ski area around on Thursday after Dorner's burned-out pickup truck was found Thursday afternoon. They followed Dorner's tracks into the forest until they petered out on frozen ground and amid new snowfall.
"He can be behind every tree," said T. Gregory Hall, a retired tactical supervisor for a special emergency response team for the Pennsylvania State Police. "He can try to draw them into an ambush area where he backtracks."
KTLA-TV quoting a source with knowledge of the investigation, reported Saturday that footprints appeared to show that Dorner doubled back into the community after his vehicle broke down, but that it was unclear where he may have gone from there or by what means.
"The possibility exists that he is here, somewhere in the forest, so we're going to keep looking … until we determine that he's not here," Cindy Bachman, spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, told reporters Friday night.
Dorner, 33, is wanted in connection with a double homicide and the killing of a police officer in a rampage stemming from his dismissal from the Los Angeles Police Department in 2008.
The manhunt, however, was not confined to this mountainous areas. Thousands of heavily armed police remained on the lookout throughout California, Nevada, Arizona and northern Mexico for a suspect bent on revenge and willing to die.
Heavy patrols and watches were especially vigilant in the Los Angeles area because of Dorner's threats against police officers and their families.
"We hope it ends quickly without any more bloodshed or anyone else getting hurt,'' Los Angeles police Cmdr. Andrew Smith said. "We are prepared to go as long as it takes. We're in it for the long haul.''
Dorner has taunted authorities through a manifesto in which he vowed revenge on police officers and their families.
Irvine Police Chief David Maggard named Dorner Wednesday night as the suspect in the slayings of Monica Quan, 28, an assistant basketball coach at California State University-Fullerton, and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, a University of Southern California campus security officer.
The couple were found dead of multiple gunshot wounds in their car outside their Irvine condominium Sunday night.
Quan was the daughter of Randy Quan, a retired LAPD captain who represented Dorner in the review process that led to his dismissal from the force for making false statements.
Randy Quan was the first Chinese-American to attain the rank of captain on the LAPD force, the department has said. He later served as chief of police at Cal Poly-Pomona, part of the California State University system.
Maggard said Dorner implicated himself in the killings in the manifesto.
"When the truth comes out, the killing stops," the letter reads. "The attacks will stop when the department states the truth about my innocence. PUBLICLY!!! I will not accept any type of currency/goods in exchange for the attacks to stop, no do I want it. I want my name back, period. There is no negotiation."
He is also wanted in the shooting of three Los Angeles-area police officer on Thursday, one of whom died.
The police headquarters building in downtown Los Angeles was ringed by officers on foot and parked patrol cars, and snipers were in place on the roof in case the wanted ex-cop who vowed warfare against police and their families made a move there. Other police stations throughout the area had heavy visible protection as well.
In his online rant, Dorner baited authorities.
"Any threat assessments you generate will be useless," it read. "I have the strength and benefits of being unpredictable, unconventional, and unforgiving."
Dorner served in the Navy, earning a rifle marksman ribbon and pistol expert medal. He was assigned to a naval undersea warfare unit and various aviation training units, according to military records. He took leave from the LAPD for a six-month deployment to Bahrain in 2006 and 2007.
"Here's the bottom line: We don't know if he's on foot or not," Los Angeles Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese told the Associated Press. "Is he on foot up on the mountain? Is he down the mountain? We don't know."
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