Fugitive police officer's body found in rubble of burned cabin

Big Bear Lake (US), Feb 13 (AP) The extraordinary manhunt for the former Los Angeles police officer suspected of three murders converged on a mountain cabin where authorities believe he barricaded himself inside, engaged in a shootout that killed a deputy and then never emerged as the home went up in flames. A single gunshot was heard from within, and a charred body was found inside. If the man inside proves to be Christopher Dorner, the search for the most wanted man in America over the last week would have ended the way he had expected death, with the police pursuing him. Thousands of officers had been on the hunt for the former Navy reservist since police said he launched a campaign to exact revenge against the Los Angeles Police Department for his firing. They say he threatened to bring "warfare" to officers and their families, spreading fear and setting off a search for him across the Southwest and Mexico. "Enough is enough. It's time for you to turn yourself in. It's time to stop the bloodshed," LAPD Cmdr Andrew Smith said at a news conference held outside police headquarters in Los Angeles, a starkly different atmosphere than last week when officials briefed the news media under tight security with Dorner on the loose. A short time after Smith spoke, smoke began to rise from the cabin in the snow-covered woods near Big Bear Lake, a resort town about 128 kilometers east of Los Angeles. Flames then engulfed the building images that were broadcast on live television around the world. TV helicopters showed the fire burning freely with no apparent effort to extinguish it. "We have reason to believe that it is him," said San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Cynthia Bachman, adding that she didn't know how the fire started. She noted there was gunfire between the person in the cabin and officers around the home before the blaze began. Until yesterday, authorities didn't know whether Dorner was still near Big Bear Lake, where they found his burned-out pickup last week. Around 12:20 pm local time yesterday, deputies got a report of a stolen pickup truck, authorities said. The location was directly across the street from where law enforcement set up their command post on Thursday and not far from where Dorner's pickup was abandoned. The owner of the vehicle taken yesterday described the suspect as looking similar to Dorner. A warden for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife traveling down Highway 38 recognized a man who fit Dorner's description traveling in the opposite direction. (AP) HAZ 02131054 NNNN