Update!

Christopher Dorner's Charred Body Positively Identified

Former LAPD officer, suspected of killing three people, led authorities on a wild goose chase to Big Bear Lake, Calif,; a sheriff's deputy was killed today as authorities closed in on the fugitive

By Natalie Finn Feb 15, 2013 12:35 AMTags
Christopher Dorner, Big BearAP Photo/Tami Abdollah

UPDATE Feb. 14, 2013: San Bernadino Sheriff's Department confirmed today that the charred body of Christopher Dorner had been positively identified using dental records.  

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After a week-long manhunt, Christopher Dorner was presumed dead but then authorities began to refute reports that a body had been discovered in a burnt-out cabin where the fugitive was believed to have holed up earlier in the day following a shoot-out with police in Big Bear Lake, Calif.

NBC News initially reported that sources from L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office had received confirmation from LAPD officials that remains believed to be Dorner's were found, but the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department has since said that the cabin was too hot to enter and no body has been discovered yet.

Multiple outlets reported earlier today that a single gunshot was heard from the cabin as authorities closed in.

Dorner is suspected in the Feb. 3 shooting deaths of Monica Quan, the daughter of a retired cop that he blamed for his firing from the LAPD, and her fiancé, Keith Lawrence; and the Feb. 7 slaying of Riverside police officer Michael Crain, a former Marine.

He was officially charged with Crain's murder yesterday so as to ease the extradition process in case he was successful in escaping to Mexico, as authorities believed was his original intention.

One San Bernardino sheriff's deputy was killed and another was wounded in today's shootout.

Before embarking on his spree of violence, Dorner left behind a rambling manifesto on Facebook in which he namechecked dozens of celebrities and prominent politicians, athletes and journalists, and promised to seek revenge on the authority figures whom he blamed for his dismissal from the LAPD and their families.

The hunt for Dorner left civilians and law enforcement alike on edge, resulting in beefed-up security at Sunday's Grammy Awards and dozens of bogus sightings being reported over the course of the last week.

(Originally Published Feb. 12, 2013 @ 8:00 p.m. PT)