<strong>BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) –</strong> A law enforcement official tells The Associated Press a charred body has been found in the burned cabin where a fugitive ex-cop is believed to have been in a standoff with sheriff’s deputies.
The official speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing says the body was found at about 6:30 p.m. PST Tuesday.
Authorities said earlier they believed the man in the cabin was Christopher Dorner. He has been on the run since they say he launched a campaign to exact revenge against the Los Angeles Police Department for his firing.
Officials will be looking for identifying marks such as tattoos before confirming the identity.
Police say Dorner killed four people, including a deputy on Tuesday.
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The cabin where a former police officer is believed to be holed up is on fire.
TV footage from the scene shows smoke pouring from the cabin.
Police surrounded the cabin in the snow-covered woods of Big Bear, a resort town about 80 miles east of Los Angeles where authorities have focused their hunt for Christopher Dorner since they said he had launched a campaign to exact revenge against the Los Angeles Police Department for his firing.
LAPD held a brief news conference Tuesday, confirming that authorities think it’s Christopher Dorner who’s holed up in a cabin in the Big Bear Lake area, after a shootout that wounded two officers.
LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith asked news agencies not to broadcast live reports because the person in the cabin might be watching television.
He urged Dorner to surrender, saying “Enough is enough.”
Authorities say the former Los Angeles police officer wanted for killing three people is holed up in a cabin miles from where his truck was found.
A sheriff’s official says Christopher Dorner stole a vehicle Tuesday near Big Bear Lake, abandoned it after a chase, ran into the forest and barricaded himself in the cabin. He got into a gunfight with officers, two of whom were injured.
As the crow flies, it’s about five miles from where Dorner’s pickup was found Thursday, though a ridge with peaks topping 8,000 feet lies between the locations. By road, the areas are about 30 miles apart.
The manhunt for Dorner began Wednesday. In an online post, he targeted dozens of people he feels are responsible for his firing from the LAPD in 2008.