Crime & Safety

Newest Photos, Timeline: Christopher Dorner Manhunt

Just released security photos of Dorner, some yearbook mugs and the scene Patch caught outside while police search the LaPalma home of Dorner's mother.

Law-enforcement remains Friday night on the a former LAPD officer who is suspected of committing three revenge killings in retaliation for his firing from the department. The latest from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and elsewhere:

Dorner's mother has a mountain cabin that was searched,and investigators say they are not sure Dorner is still in the area. But the hunt goes on, and ski areas are back open for business. Irvine police released January, 2013 surveillance photos of Dorner from an Orange County hotel, which may be the most recent view of the suspect. They were released so the public will have the most current photo possible. 

On Friday, investigators armed with a search warrant combed the La Palma home of Dorner's mother (see photos). The focus of the search for Christopher J. Dorner was still in the Big Bear area, where San Bernardino County Sheriff’s officials said they were searching 200 unoccupied cabins. Dorner's car was found Thursday morning destroyed by fire. Authorities searched all Thursday night for Dorner, including hundreds of house-to-house visits.

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Map Dorner's Suspected Trek in California

Here is a timeline of several events surrounding Dorner’s case:

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  • October 11, 2011: Dorner's lawsuit against the LAPD is filed regarding his dismissal.
  • Jan. 21, 2013: A Chris Dorner Facebook page is created that included several pictures of the former officer in LAPD uniform, and in military wear. Eventually it would include what is now known as his manifesto in which he explains who his targets are and why he feels wronged. (January 22 is when the photos were loaded). It's since been taken down.
  • Jan. 28: Photos of Dorner at an Orange County hotel are captured on surveillance video, still shots of which Irvine Police Department release Feb. 8, though no city is mentioned.
  • Late January/early February: Media including TV show host Anderson Cooper report receiving odd packages from Dorner.
  • Feb. 1: At 9:28 p.m. a TMZ video shows Dorner buys scuba gear including three oxygen tanks that he has filled at Sports Chalet in Torrance, according to police, who've confirmed it is Dorner on the surveillance video.
  • Feb. 2: Dorner's last day as a Navy reservist.
  • Feb. 3: In the morning, Dorner may have been at his ex-wife's Long Beach residence, her next door neighbor tells Patch.
  • Feb. 4: At 9:20 p.m. Monica Quan, a basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton and former star athlete at Walnut High School and Long Beach State, and her fiancée Keith Lawrence, were found shot dead in his vehicle. It was on the top level of a parking structure near their high-security Irvine apartment.
  • Feb. 6: Dorner is named as the suspect in the death of Quan and Lawrence. Details of Dorner’s vendetta begin to emerge, including Dorner's manifesto that Irvine police say he posted Monday implicating himself.
  • Feb. 6: San Diego County officials say they suspect Dorner tried to steal a boat from an 81-year-old man at Point Loma late that night. Reports were that he was unable to start the boat. 
  • Feb. 7: About 2 a.m. Thursday, a witness in the area reported finding a badge and briefcase that appeared to belong to Dorner; federal affidavit states Dorner ID found San Ysidro-Mexico border.
  • Feb. 7: About 1:20 a.m. Thursday, a gray Nissan Titan pickup truck was spotted in the Corona area by a resident who alerted a pair of LAPD officers en route to protect a targeted person named in the manifesto. The officers were trying to catch up to the vehicle near Interstate 15 and Magnolia Avenue when Dorner allegedly opened fire on them, grazing one officer in the head.
  • Feb. 7: Shortly after the first shooting, Dorner reportedly ambushed two Riverside Police officers while they were stopped at a red light in the area of Magnolia and Arlington avenues. An 11-year veteran of the force was killed. The second officer was seriously injured.
  • Feb. 7: At 5:30 a.m. Officers from the Los Angeles and Torrance police departments each shoot at two pickup trucks they each mistakenly believe is Dorner's, after hearing over their radios that he may be coming their way. Two women are injured in the first shooting.
  • Feb. 7: About 8:30 a.m., Dorner’s burned out truck was found in the area of Forest Road 2N10 and Club View in Big Bear Lake. About 2:30 p.m., deputies were able to confirm the vehicle belonged to Christopher Dorner.
  • Feb. 7: Early in the afternoon that Thursday, a person who possibly aided Dorner's getaway, who has a relative with a Big Bear cabin, is spotted in Costa Mesa, federal investigators allege.
  • Feb. 7: A Christopher Dorner Facebook fan page is created, calling the triple-murder suspect a "hero."
  • Feb. 8: San Bernardino County Sheriff’s officials conducted on all night search of several hundred empty mountain cabins in Big Bear Lake. By Friday morning it was not clear if Dorner was in the area. The incident prompted the closing of the local school district.
  • Feb. 8: Officials in other states are on high-alert, including in Pensacola, Florida, and Enid, Oklahoma, places where the accused triple-murderer Dorner's manifesto said he's lived, as well as Las Vegas, where he was briefly married and where Dorner owns two homes, the Orange County Register reported.
  • Feb. 8: In LaPalma, investigators bearing a search warrant combed through the home of Dorner's mother. (See our photos).
  • Feb. 10: L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Dorner, saying the money came from ``business, unions, government, law enforcement and community groups."
  • Feb. 10: A report of a Dorner sighting draws LAPD, which locks down the Lowe's in Northridge, proves wrong.
  • Feb. 11: Dorner is charged in court with a count of murder in Riverside police officer Crain's slaying and three counts of attempted murder for his partner's wounding plus firing into a vehicle carrying two others. 
  • Feb. 11: A federal affidavit is made public in which the U.S. Marshal states that Dorner may have had help in eluding the dragnet once his truck was found burned on a forest road. And that "probable cause" exists suggesting Dorner is in Mexico to evade arrest.

--City News Service contributed to this report.

Some Long Beach connections to the Dorner manhunt 


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