BIG BEAR, Calif. (KTLA) — Police in the mountain resort town suspended their search Friday night for Christopher Jordan Dorner but plan to resume the search Saturday morning at 7:00.
Investigators believe Dorner, 33, a fired Los Angeles Police Department officer and former Navy lieutenant, is involved in the murders of a Riverside police officer and two others.
“Once it gets dark out there and the snow keeps falling and they have no air support, I don’t know how effective they would be in that situation,” spokeswoman Cindy Bachman of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.
Throughout Friday, more than 100 officers searched through fresh snow for clues to the whereabouts of Dorner.
The manhunt for double murder suspect and alleged cop killer Christoper Dorner, 33, continued Friday in the Big Bear area.
Heavy snow was falling on Friday morning, prompting authorities to call off the aerial search.
However, an exhaustive ground search was ongoing, and all Bear Valley schools were closed for the day as a precaution.
The Bear Mountain and Snow Summit ski resorts were open for business on Friday, after closing early on Thursday.
Schools were also locked down on Thursday, as a fatigue-clad SWAT officers began combing the area following the discovery of Dorner’s burned out pickup truck.
About 125 officers would eventually be used to search hundreds of homes door-to-door and follow what was believed to be Dorner’s trail.
San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said at a news conference Friday morning that authorities searched throughout the night.
Over 100 law enforcement officers from across Southern California are still involved in the search, according to McMahon.
They plan to focus on the area where Dorner’s torched Nissan Titan pickup truck was found, as well as the mountains above that.
The truck was found on Thursday off Forest Ford 2N10 and Club View Drive in Big Bear Lake. The area is about a mile away from Bear Mountain.
Footprints were found leading from the truck into the snow. McMahon said it didn’t appear the tracks were headed in any specific direction.
He said that crews followed the tracks through the forest until they lost them when the ground became frozen.
McMahon said there are a number of places up on the mountain that authorities haven’t gotten to yet, and that there are a lot of abandoned cabins in those areas.
SWAT officers are using snowcats and armored vehicles outfitted with chains to access the more remote areas amid the heavy snowfall.
The search will continue regardless of the weather, according to McMahon, until Dorner is found or authorities determine he has left the area.
Big Bear is expected to get 6 to 10 inches of snow about 4,000 feet and 2 to 6 inches of snow below 4,000 feet, the National Weather Service said.
Snow levels could drop to between 2,500 and 3,000 feet Friday morning and to 2,000 feet by the evening.
Wind gusts could reach 45 mph, the weather service said, and scattered showers are expected throughout the day.
It was unclear whether Dorner was prepared for the cold conditions or the rugged terrain surrounding Big Bear Lake.
Meantime, McMahon said that they are processing Dorner’s truck in conjunction with police in Irvine, Los Angeles and Riverside. He didn’t have any further information.
Dorner is suspected of killing a young Irvine couple, as well as a Riverside police officer, as part of a long-standing grudge against the LAPD.
He is believed to have penned a long, angry manifesto on Facebook saying that he was unfairly fired from the force and was now seeking vengeance.
Monica Quan, 28, an assistant college basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton, and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, were found shot to death in their car last Saturday.
Quan’s father had been an LAPD captain, and a subject of Dorner’s wrath in the manifesto police say he wrote.
Late Wednesday and on into Thursday, Dorner allegedly went on a violent rampage, shooting three police officers in Riverside County, one of whom died.
Police are reminding residents in the Big Bear area to keep their doors locked. If you see Dorner, or anything unusual, you should call 911 immediately.
503 Comments to “Mountain Manhunt for Dorner Suspended Overnight”
February 8, 2013 at 3:50 PM
So here we have a heavily armed gunman on the loose and meanwhile our State Government is busy trying to take guns from law abiding citizens to protect themselves? Add to that cops are shooting innocent old ladies in response to this crisis, is there any more proof of why the citizens need to be armed to protect themselves from criminals AND the government?
February 8, 2013 at 3:55 PM
They drew first blood.
He's gonna give them a war they won't believe.
Don't push it.
I hope they have a good supply of body bags.
February 8, 2013 at 5:09 PM
Another keyboard warrior heard from.
February 8, 2013 at 7:39 PM
Another another keyboard warrior heard from.
February 8, 2013 at 4:08 PM
this will become a movie you all know that right.About a year after all this ends there will be a mini movie (like the bank robbery turned bad in north Hollywood) then i say 5 or 10 years later boom a movie it has all the making's and sorry to the family's that lost love one's my prayers go to you and to chris sorry it had to come to this just to get the truth out there and rightful justice much love
February 8, 2013 at 4:45 PM
I would give him a thumbs up and wish him good luck! I think he was way mistreated by the LAPD, and they lead him to this….
February 8, 2013 at 5:06 PM
If he shot you I would give him a big thumbs up.
February 8, 2013 at 7:41 PM
If he shot you I would be sad.
February 8, 2013 at 4:51 PM
True Hero
February 8, 2013 at 4:52 PM
I honestly believe Christopher was most likely innocent and got fired for being an honest cop. Now that was not fair and should’ve been investigated but we all know how dirty police can get so let’s leave it at that.
Now what’s not ok is to kill innocent people no matter how hurt you may be. I pray for Christopher and the families who’ve been impacted by this tragedy. I also pray and hope Christopher will turn himself in without harm. I think this man needs to be heard. He was a law abiding citizen and all of a sudden ticked. Christopher, your story is believable but for us to believe you, you need to turn yourself in.
February 9, 2013 at 7:01 AM
The fact he is killing other cops family should make you think different. Its one thing to go after someone you think is "bad", but to kill their family…?
February 8, 2013 at 5:04 PM
i met him one time i was sitting in my car and looked over at him then a flash came…..your a punk can't come at me like a man you disgust me
February 8, 2013 at 5:05 PM
Wow you delete my post but allow posts congratulating Dormer for killing police and encourage him to kill more.
February 8, 2013 at 5:19 PM
RAMBO
February 8, 2013 at 5:25 PM
I just want to say that I commend Christopher Dorner for taking a STAND against CORRUPTION AND RACISM………If you are a MINORITY you are judged and discriminated against, and he(Donor) REFUSE to go unheard. The public is NOT HIS TARGET!!!!! He is a TRUE example of an individual TELLING THE TRUTH and no one wants to believe or even want to heard from a MINORITY when it’s going against WHITE PEOPLE. I have been there and I know how it feels to be telling the TRUTH and no one will believe you. Well Chris I BELIEVE YOU and thank you for being OUR VOICE AND ACTION!!!!!!!
February 8, 2013 at 5:27 PM
I just want to say that I commend Christopher Dorner for taking a STAND against CORRUPTION AND RACISM………If you are a MINORITY you are judged and discriminated against, and he(Donor) REFUSE to go unheard. The public is NOT HIS TARGET!!!!! He is a TRUE example of an individual TELLING THE TRUTH and no one wants to believe or even want to heard from a MINORITY when it’s going against WHITE PEOPLE. I have been there and I know how it feels to be telling the TRUTH and no one will believe you. Well Chris I BELIEVE YOU and thank you for being OUR VOICE AND ACTION!!!!!!!
February 8, 2013 at 5:58 PM
There are some real lunatics out there that would congratulate a lunatic murderer.
February 8, 2013 at 6:09 PM
Rambo. spirit is still alive, too bad though, that the hero always dies in the end.
February 8, 2013 at 6:11 PM
TRUE NEGRO.
February 8, 2013 at 6:13 PM
Well it rhymes with HERO!…..LMFAO!
February 8, 2013 at 6:13 PM
If anybody wants to know whats going to come out of this then check out the movie trailer Gray State..
February 8, 2013 at 6:27 PM
Dear KTLA Web Staff;
If you had actually BOTHERED to READ Dorner's manifesto, you would know that there is NO "long-standing grudge against the LAPD." ..other than in YOUR imagination, that is.
Also, it's NOT an "angry" manifesto but rather an amazingly lucid and well-written one that certainly raises a LOT of concerns about the moral integrity of our law enforcement officers. Yes the man is mad but the madness may be justifiable.
Hence Dorner's EXPLOSIVE POPULARITY in the social media.
February 8, 2013 at 6:33 PM
Society builds institutions…religion, politics, education, and yes, even police departments. It is unfortunate the institions society (we) build are laced with corruption, collusion, and evil.
A message has been sent here… I hope we heard it…
February 8, 2013 at 7:28 PM
This Uppity Niggard needs to by put in it's place 6 ft under for the murders of 3 people.
February 8, 2013 at 7:32 PM
people are stupid if they think he's going after them, he wants corrupt cops not innocent poeple. all you people snitching him out are idiots. for the first time ever! let the police deal with their own problem.
February 8, 2013 at 7:34 PM
LAUNCH WASHINGTON DC BASED INVESTIGATION AGAINIST LAPD AS PER
FRANK SERPICO IN 1973
February 8, 2013 at 7:37 PM
ALL BLACKS SHOULD GO BACK TO THE JUNGLE WHERE U MANIFESTED AIDS FROM!
February 8, 2013 at 7:41 PM
What makes you think Chris's family is safe? I'd bail into hiding if I were them.
Chris is putting them in danger too from public retaliation.
February 8, 2013 at 7:46 PM
You know, it's high time all news outlets stop with this smiling muther fackers face on every newscast.
There are some stupid fools that are starting to agree with his actions, the longer this fugitive bastard is on the loose.
February 8, 2013 at 7:53 PM
Read "Serpico on Serpico" in the New York Times dated January 22, 2010 by Corey Kilgannon in relation to this situation…also check Frank Serpico on Wikipedia: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/nyregion/24serp…
February 8, 2013 at 8:00 PM
I have no love for the LAPD and the fact is that the Patriot Act and the NDAA (which Obama signed) have made the police into a military militia and created marshal law for all americans. Once we let these things happen, those that are silent against the abuse of power are just as responsible for the consequences as the actions of Dormer. There is no denying that many Police Departments and City Managers, Mayors and Councils are corrupt. Just take a look at the Bell city issue and many other cities that have robbed the citizens of money as well as abuse people physically, as in the Fullerton Police beating a homeless man to death. Though there is this type of corruption, becoming a vigilante and shooing innocent people (regardless of who they are related to) does not excuse the misguided actions of one man or department of corrupt LAPD or cops over the other action. There are always other alternatives. I believe Dormer may have been correct in his accusations, but vilified for coming forward. The sadness is that his justice will be overshadowed by his own misdeeds.
February 8, 2013 at 8:06 PM
Most of the above comments are retarded……
February 8, 2013 at 8:25 PM
Read "SERPICO ON SERPICO" dated January 22, 2010 in The New York Times by Corey Kilgannon
which completely reflects the situation with Dorner and the LAPD. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/nyregion/24serp…
February 8, 2013 at 8:28 PM
KTLA: CORPORATE PUPPET OF THE AMERICAN NAZI POLICE STATE
February 8, 2013 at 8:44 PM
A ghostly trail that leads all the way back to the dark days of Gates, King, and 1992. It is known
that officers involved in the King incident were promoted in Culver City, California.
The surface elements shift and transmutate, blur and become opaque through time and seasons,
but the deep and basic structures of a corrupt and authoritatian system remain intact through more
sophisticated and "friendly" methods of media manipulation, propaganda and enforced diversion.
February 8, 2013 at 9:11 PM
How do you scare the s##t out of a cop?Just sayCHRISTOPHER DORNER!!!!!!!!!!!LMAO
February 8, 2013 at 9:13 PM
This is not about protecting the public. It's about goons in blue protecting themselves.
February 8, 2013 at 9:21 PM
Do I care if Creep start shooting Bloods, or other Creeps?
No, I just stay away and hope the action will go for long time.
February 8, 2013 at 10:42 PM
Apparently, when Dorner lived in Enid, he and a friend returned thousands of dollars lost by a Korean church…also check out what the father of the kid who was kicked by the lesbo cop has to say…Dorner seems like a nice guy who was screwed by the system and trying to exact a measure of revenge…good for him.
February 9, 2013 at 4:58 AM
I don't know enough about this situation and Dormer's relationship with LAPD to have an opinion either way, but one important lesson here for those that are considering oppressing the American citizenry in the near future is this: you may be safe in your armored vehicle with your millions of .40 s&w hollow points, but your families are accessible. Don't start nothin', won't be nothin'.
February 9, 2013 at 6:14 AM
Good Morning it's sunrise, back to the hunt. Be safe everyone.
February 9, 2013 at 6:36 AM
If you look like George Foreman please stay indoors..
February 9, 2013 at 6:46 AM
Dorner=typical Obamabot.
February 9, 2013 at 6:51 AM
I know there are a lot of great cops, but how many existing cops could do something like this??? Imagine this guy didn't have an issue a couple years ago – he would be a cop today doing what cops do. I know perfection is impossible, but it sure seems that the police don't exactly have "better" people working for them than the average company – so why do we keep acting like these guys are heros? Some rare ones are great people and heros – but we cannot apply that standard to someone just because they are a police officer. This guy is walking proof.
February 9, 2013 at 6:53 AM
It seems to be that the last place he will be found is in the San Bernardinos. Having lived in those mountains for almost 30 years, it is not likely that a large black man would be unnoticed for long. I may have seen 1/2 dozen blacks in my tenure on the mountain. And, if you wanted to go to a place where your fellow citizens believe in armed self-protection – you couldn't pick a better neighborhood.
Why did he burn the truck? To draw attention – 'cause I could lose an 18 wheeler in those woods. Figure he burned the truck, drew the police there, went into the high desert down the back of the hill, crossed over on the Pearblossom highway to get to L.A., where he could melt in the community and get back to his declared goal of killing specific individuals . Really can only speculate where he is, but I'm pretty sure where he is not – a white mountain communites, all armed and with a thousand eyes.
February 9, 2013 at 6:58 AM
not only that but its snowing so EVERYTHING is white. Doesn't make a lot of sense unless he is trying to "live off the land" and head deeper into the mountains. I guess there are a lot more poeple doing that sort of thing that you might realize – living in the mountains.
February 9, 2013 at 11:13 AM
This man is being hunted by police officers and these police officers have no intention of doing anything other than murdering him. The police have absolutely no desire or will to capture him alive and try him in a court of law.
This man is a citizen who has not been proven guilty—and the police have no right to vigilantism via premeditated murder—
February 9, 2013 at 12:12 PM
This guy killed the children of someone he had a disagreement with? You people defending him are pathetic . . . his actions discredit any accusations he might make about LAPD. This is a self-centered baby throwing a deadly tantrum.
February 9, 2013 at 2:22 PM
The KTLA headline I'm reading on the right side of my screen reads "Manhunt for Fomer Cop Christopher Dorner".
Spellcheck please…the word if "FORMER" not "Fomer".
February 9, 2013 at 9:22 PM
Depends on witch hood you from.
February 9, 2013 at 2:30 PM
So far Dorner has proven he can outsmart the LAPD, US Marshalls and the FBI. I wouldn't be so quick to write him off as a crazed lunatic.
The general public has nothing to fear from this man, only LE and their families. If random killing were his goal there would be lots of bodies in his wake.
February 9, 2013 at 7:23 PM
If I ran into him, I would buy him a meal — and then walk the other way.
February 9, 2013 at 8:10 PM
“DORNER UNCHAINED”…..no daddy in his putrid and sullied pedigree.
February 9, 2013 at 9:13 PM
I wonder where I could buy a Negro hunting licence?.Why do the cops get to have all the fun?.
February 10, 2013 at 12:24 AM
some idiot posted under the name "christopher" and said "nobody will recognize me". And another poster responded "chris, is this really u? if so we hear ya!" what morons…yeah, like he's reading KTLA posts and responding in his free time while escaping and plotting. who posts on here anyway, 12 year olds? based on the sheer stupidity of so many posters, I am convinced.
February 10, 2013 at 3:26 AM
He should of made an official declaration of war, on LAPD no more no less. Thomas Jefferson would be on his side. Would You? This is a man fighting to end tyranny. And he is doing it single handedly. His mistake was killing innocent civilians, However we do not know how "Innocent" those civilians were. Imagine if this was an independent operation of more then 1 patriot, but less then a thousand.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
–Thomas Jefferson
February 10, 2013 at 7:42 AM
If I Ran into Chris Dorner, I'll tell him your our MODERN HERO. Put justice on the corrupt LAPD not the innocent one. The only mistake he did is involving the innocent ones. 100% I support and agree w Chris Donner for LAPD Corruptions, I'm a victim of their system as well, but never been heard and never been given justice. My complaint was never their priority even I was able to provide proof of video. I also agree w Chris that LAPD are racist.