Hunt for Rampaging Ex-Cop Spreads Far Across Southern California
Police are still on the hunt for Charles Michael Dorner, the ex-cop accused of killing at least three people and published a manifesto promising to kill more. They've locked down the mountain resort town of Big Bear, California, but there's a new problem: Dorner has allegedly been spotted some 200 miles away near San Diego on Friday morning morning. The ABC News affiliate in San Diego is reporting that police are working to confirm the sighting and that 12 units "responded to a residence off the Barona (Indian) reservation in the Wildcat Canyon area of San Diego County, California" this morning.
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"While there was a reported sighting, the person who made the report 'isn’t making himself available,'" a spokesperson with San Diego County Sheriff’s Office told ABC Action News this morning. If this sighting has no weight, it would be the second time that a false report has come from San Diego—on Thursday there was a false report from the region that a man, believed to be Dorner had barricaded himself in a residence there. But according to CNN, Dorner's badge and wallet were found near the San Diego airport—so you could see why police there might err or on the side of caution.
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Meanwhile, some 150 miles away, the town of Big Bear has been placed on lockdown. A truck belonging to Dorner was found on fire there yesterday and with fresh footprints walking away from the flaming vehicle. "More than 100 police officers were going door-to-door and searching for new tracks in the snow," and "[m]ore than half of the 400 homes in the area have been searched by police, who are traveling in two-man teams," reports ABC News. Considering the false leads from the San Diego area, it does sound like the leads and clues coming from Big Bear are a bit more credible, though officials aren't putting some sort of elaborate scheme or diversion past Dorner. The Los Angeles Times's team of Joe Serna, Kate Mather and Monte Morin writes:
"He could be anywhere at this point," McMahon said. When asked if the burned truck was a possible diversion, [San Bernardino County Sheriff John] McMahon replied: "Anything's possible."
The search for Dorner is continuing in Big Bear today. San Bernardino County Sheriff spokesman Cindy Bachman said "that the search in the area would continue as long as the weather cooperates. About three choppers were being used overnight, but weather conditions were deteriorating," reports ABC News.
