Fugitive ex-cop remains found

The positive identification of fugitive former LA policeman Christopher Dorner was made through dental records, the San Bernardino County Coroner's office said

The remains recovered from a cabin in Big Bear, California, have been positively identified as those of fugitive former Los Angeles policeman Christopher Dorner, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said.

The fire that destroyed a cabin where a fugitive former police officer was believed to be holed-up was not set intentionally, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said.

He added that authorities believe 33-year-old ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner died in the cabin but said a coroner's investigators had not yet formally identified the remains found there.

A Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) police chief has said that the investigation into the former cop Christopher Dorner if still ongoing.

"We don't just stop a murder case simply because we think that the suspect ... is no longer with us," he told reporters.

Giving his reaction to the events overnight, he said: "It was horrifying to listen to that firefight. To hear those words 'officer down' is the most gut-wrenching experience that you can have as a police officer."

He said that coroners are working to identify the remains of a body found in the cabin.

Police have said the week-long manhunt for fugitive Christopher Dorner will not be declared over until the charred body found in a burned cabin is confirmed as the ex-LAPD officer, the Los Angeles Times has reported.

LA Police Chief Charlie Beck though reflected on a "bittersweet night" after a sheriff's deputy was killed in yesterday's gun battle in the Californian mountains, suggesting police are confident the remains will prove to be Dorner.

Police said the San Bernardino County deputy was the fourth person to have been killed by the former cop.

Authorities heard a single gunshot as they prepared to rip down the final wall to the cabin in which its believed fugitive former LA cop Christopher Dorner had holed himself up in, the Los Angeles Times has reported.

A law enforcement source told the newspaper police had smashed windows, fired tear gas into the cabin and called for Dorner to surrender with a loud speaker.

After getting no response, police used a vehicle to rip down the cabin's walls "one by one, like peeling an onion," according to the official.

The gunshot was then heard and flames quickly engulfed the battered cabin, the official said.

A charred body has been found inside the burned-out cabin in which former LA cop Christopher Dorner is thought to have holed himself up in, the Associated Press has reported, citing a law enforcement official.

Forensic tests will be used to determine if the body belongs to the fugitive.

The LA Police Department said contrary to reports no body has been found and the burnt-out cabin is too hot to enter.