The search for a fired LAPD officer accused in a series of revenge killings continued until sunset Saturday and will resume at daybreak on Sunday "if necessary," according to San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department officials.
Deputies combed the ski resort area of Big Bear, where authorities found former LAPD Officer Christopher Dorner’s burned-out truck Thursday afternoon.
Investigators found weapons inside the truck, suggesting Dorner may have abandoned the truck in an unplanned hurry.
Former LAPD Chief William Bratton told the "Today Show" on Saturday that evidence suggests Dorner's truck may have become stuck in the mud. Previously, it was speculated that the truck may have been intentionally set ablaze as a distraction.
Investigators on Saturday were also trying to determine whether the truck's axle was broken when they found it, or if it was fractured while being towed from the forestry road.
Timeline: Revenge-Plot Slayings | Read: Full Manifesto | Map: Search Locations
More than 100 law enforcement authorities from numerous agencies scoured an eight-square-mile area in snowy conditions on Friday using police dogs and Snowcats, snowmobiles and armored personnel carriers equipped with chains to help navigate the terrain.
The search was called off, said San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon.
Sheriff's officials had said the search would continue until Dorner was located or evidence was found indicating he was no longer in the Big Bear area. On Saturday, deputies said they would continue the search on Sunday "if necessary," but would not explain that comment further.
Searchers found some tracks during the initial search, but investigators determined they did not belong to Dorner.
Dorner is accused of killing three people -- including a Riverside police officer -- and wounding two since Sunday, police said.
He was allegedly acting on an online manifesto that police attribute to him threatening LAPD officers and their families as revenge for his 2008 firing from the department.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, interviewed outside a prayer breakfast downtown, urged Dorner to turn himself in.
"We will find you," Villaraigosa said. "You’ve disgraced the public safety -- the police profession -- turn yourself in."
As the search in Big Bear was winding down for the night on Saturday, LAPD announced the department is reopening the case into Dorner's 2008 firing from the force.
In an 11,400-word document published online, Dorner laid out plans to kill law enforcement officers and their families, vowing to stop the attacks when LAPD "states the truth about my innocence."
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