Big Bear residents say Dorner bound, gagged them

Donna Leinwand Leger, Chris Woodyard and Michael Winter, USA TODAY | USATODAY

An earlier version of this story misstated the date of the deaths of Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence. They were killed Feb. 3.



The owners of a Big Bear, Calif., cabin, where fugitive Christopher Dorner is believed to have hidden out before making a getaway dash, say they discovered Dorner when they visited their unoccupied apartment unit.

Jim and Karen Reynolds told reporters Wednesday night in Big Bear that it was not two housekeepers, as widely reported, but they who discovered Dorner Tuesday morning in the apartment where he had taken refuge.

"We happened to walk in on him,'' Karen Reynolds said. "He tried to calm us down, saying very frequently he would not kill us.''

The couple said Dorner tied them up, put washcloths in their mouths, used a cord to tie pillowcases over their heads and told them to keep quiet while he left in their car. They said after he had been gone about a minute, they broke free and were able to contact authorities.

"You could tell he was professionally trained," said Karen Reynolds of Dorner, 33, who was fired from the Los Angeles Police Department in 2009.

Sheriff: Cabin not purposely burned in firefight A sheriff says his deputies did not intentionally burn down a California mountain cabin where fugitive ex-police officer Christopher Dorner is believed to have died. (Feb. 13)

Earlier Wednesday, the San Bernardino County sheriff said that deputies did not intentionally burn down another cabin where Dorner apparently made his deadly last stand.

"We did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out," Sheriff John McMahon said at an afternoon news conference.

He said deputies initially fired conventional "cold" tear gas into the cabin in Seven Oaks, near Big Bear Lake, then switched to "pyrotechnic-type" rounds" known as "burners."

Authorities have strong evidence that the man deputies tracked to the vacation cabin looked and behaved like Dorner, he said. And though he still could not "absolutely, positively confirm" that the charred body found inside was Dorner's, the sheriff said the coroner would likely make the determination "soon."

A wallet with a California driver's license bearing the name Christopher Dorner was found, the Associated Press reported earlier, citing a law enforcement official who was briefed on the investigation.

"We believe the investigation is over at this point," McMahon said.

It was also revealed that during the manhunt deputies had knocked on the door of the cabin, which was built in the 1920s, but moved on when they got no answer.

They do not believe Dorner was in the cabin, which showed no signs of forced entry and had not been rented since Feb. 6, the day before Dorner's burned-out pickup was found, said Sheriff's Deputy Chief Steve Kovensky, who was in charge of the search.

"We did an extensive search of that area," said Kovensky. "All the cabins in that particular area had teams of deputies to check to see if there was any entry and if we could make contact."

The firefight

Two San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies were shot, one fatally, before fire engulfed the cabin where Dorner was believed to have taken refuge after stealing two vehicles and trading gunfire with California wildlife officers.

"It was horrifying to listen to that firefight, to hear those words 'officer down,' " Los Angeles Police Lt. Andy Neiman said Wednesday. "Our deepest sympathy to the families" of the deputies who were shot, Neiman said.

The Inland Empire Emerald Society, a charity for families of fallen officers, first identified the slain deputy as 35-year-old Detective Jeremiah MacKay, of Redlands, a 15-year department veteran, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reported Wednesday. McMahon confirmed MacKay's death at the news conference.

McMahon identified the other deputy who was shot as Alex Collins, who has undergone multiple surgeries and will require more.

"He's in good spirits and should make a full recovery after a number of additional surgeries," he added.

Authorities have not identified the weapons or caliber of bullets used in Tuesday's firefight.

McMahon said hundreds of rounds were fired.

"It was like a war zone, and our deputies continued to go into that area. The rounds kept coming and they did not give up," he said, calling his men "absolutely true heroes."

MacKay's death was the fourth slaying attributed to Dorner, who also wounded three police officers last week in what his Facebook manifesto outlined as a campaign of revenge for having been fired from the police force. Officials will re-examine allegations by Dorner that his law enforcement career was undone by racist colleagues.

Other victims include Riverside Officer Michael Crain, 34, who was fatally shot a week ago as he sat in his police cruiser. On Wednesday, thousands of people gathered for Crain's funeral.

STORY: Thousands mourn Riverside officer killed in rampage

Police will continue to protect dozens of officers and others Dorner threatened in his manifesto, Neiman said.

"The task force is still in place, and they will work until there's nothing left to be done," he said. "We don't just stop a murder case simply because we think that the suspect in that case" is dead.

On Tuesday, Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. Andrew Smith said it was "highly likely" that Dorner had been inside when authorities heard a single gunshot and saw the cabin burning after SWAT teams had fired tear gas inside as part of a "tactical operation" that involved tearing down its walls to flush out Dorner.

Police said Dorner had been holed up since Thursday in a different cabin — 20 to 30 yards from the site where news media gathered and received sheriff's briefings daily on the massive manhunt after Dorner's burned truck was found earlier that day.

'No panic'

Rick Heltebrake, the Boy Scout camp manager whose truck Dorner commandeered, said Wednesday that he was exhausted from taking calls from media and well-wishers all night.

"We just want to go on from here," Heltebrake said as he came by a police checkpoint in Angelus Oaks.

He described his encounter with the fugitive — which he said lasted about 10 seconds — as if it were a business transaction. A terrifying moment? "I didn't feel like it was. He said he didn't want to hurt me and I believed him," he said.

"There was no panic," Heltebrake said. "I got a little freaked when I heard the gunfire."

Carjacking victim: Fugitive ex-cop was 'calm' A driver whose truck was taken by a carjacker believed to be a fugitive ex-Los Angeles cop said Wednesday the man appeared calm and didn't want to hurt him. (Feb. 13)

Dorner was dressed in military-style camouflage and was toting only one weapon, an military-style rifle. The victim, who runs a camp for Boy Scouts of America, says he didn't get a good look at it because it was pointed right at him.

He added that Dorner did not look disheveled, unshaven or like a man whom might have been holed up under difficult conditions for a week.

He is grateful, in fact, that Doerner let him take his beloved 3-year-old Dalmatian, Suni, when he bailed from his truck.

"That was a little bit of compassion," he said.

Helterbrake said he then dove into a snowbank and hid behind a tree when he heard the gunfire moments later. He didn't know California game wardens were right behind Dorner.

After exchanging gunfire with officers, Dorner ran into the woods and broke into the cabin. As SWAT closed in, a single shot was heard inside before the cabin was engulfed in flames. As the fire grew, more gunshots were heard — apparently ammunition ignited by the fire, authorities said.

Authorities let the cabin burn.

"We won't allow them (firefighters) to get close to the cabin,'' said sheriff's spokeswoman Cathy Bachman. "It's just not safe.''

Dorner previously was charged with killing Crain, the Riverside police officer, and was the prime suspect in the murders of Monica Quan and her fiancé, Keith Lawrence, on Feb. 3. She was the daughter of a retired Los Angeles police captain whom Dorner blamed for his firing after reporting alleged abuse by another officer. Randal Quan represented Dorner during his termination hearing.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck had called Dorner "a domestic terrorist," and a $1 million reward, raised from public and private sources, was offered. Police received more than 1,000 tips.

Neiman said it was not clear who, if anyone, might claim the reward if the body is confirmed to be that of Dorner.

Contributing: William M. Welch in Los Angeles and John Bacon in McLean, Va.