Alleged cop-killer Christopher Dorner has vanished. 
 
 More than 24 hours after Dorner allegedly shot and killed one police officer and injured two others, police say they have no idea where the former cop with a vendetta against police has gone. 
 
 "He could be anywhere at this point," Sheriff John McMahon of the San Bernadino County Sheriff's Department said today. 
 
 Police are also trying to determine whether Dorner left his burning car on the side of Big Bear Mountain and earlier dropped his badge in San Diego as diversionary tactics to distract police. 
 
 Wherever Dorner is, law enforcement officials fear that he may be heavily armed, possibly with a powerful .50 caliber rifle, which shoots five-inch long bullets that can pierce bullet proof vests and vehicles, as well as a shoulder-fired missile launcher. 
 
 Dorner, 33, a former Los Angeles police officer and Navy reservist, sparked a region-wide dragnet after allegedly killing two civilians on Sunday and releasing an angry "manifesto" airing grievances against the LAPD and warning of coming violence toward cops. 
 
 In the manifesto Dorner published online, he threatened at least 12 people by name, along with their families. 
 
 "Your lack of ethics and conspiring to wrong a just individual are over. Suppressing the truth will lead to deadly consequences for you and your family," Dorner wrote in his manifesto. 
 
 The last clue to Dorner's possible whereabouts was when cops found his burning car on hillside of Big Bear Mountain Thursday, but the trail of footsteps in the snow quickly went cold. 
 
 "We followed the tracks around through the forest. We haven't found any new information to suggest that the tracks are going to any specific area. They did lead around in that wooded area where the truck was found, and we continued to follow them until we lost them where the ground got frozen," Sheriff John McMahon of the San Bernadino County Sheriff's Department said today. 
 
 Dozens of law enforcement officers searched Dorner's home in La Palma, Calif., for clues to his whereabouts today. 
 
 Overnight, more than 100 heavily armed SWAT team members and police officers combed Big Bear Mountain in armored vehicles and snow cats and searched homes in the area without any sign of Dorner. 
 
 Cops are currently searching more than 200 empty cabins on the mountain to ensure that Dorner is not hiding out in them. 
 
 "We're going to continue searching until either we discover that he left the mountain or we find him, one of the two," McMahon said. 
 
 The Sheriff's office was forced to ground its helicopters, which are equipped with thermal imaging and could help pinpoint someone on the mountain, because of the snowy weather. 
 
 How the Manhunt Started: The Search for Alleged Cop-Killer Chris Dorner 
 
 Chris Dorner's Manifesto: Read His Allegations Against the LAPD 
 
 Law enforcement officials are "deeply concerned" about Dorner's knowledge of police tactics that he learned while working for the LAPD from 2005 to 2008, sources tell ABC News. 
 
 In his lengthy, rage-filled "manifesto," Dorner said he would use his knowledge of police tactics to wage "unconventional and asymetrical warfare to those in the LAPD uniform whether on or off duty." 
 
 Dorner claimed to have a list of all LAPD undercover vehicles as well as extensive knowledge of procedures for hunting down suspects. Police are worried Dorner could use both to avoid capture and continue his violence against law enforcement. 
 
 Dorner allegedly began his killing spree over the weekend, when a popular assistant women's college basketball coach, Monica Quan, 28, and her fiancé, Keith Lawrence, 27, were found dead in their car in Irvine, Calif., Sunday. 
 
 Police say Dorner bore a grudge against Quan's father, retired LAPD Capt. Randy Quan, for his firing from the department. The deaths launched a manhunt for Dorner as police discovered his online manifesto. 
 
 Suspect Cop Killer Is Believed to Have Very Powerful Weapons 
 
 On Wednesday night, around 10 p.m., Dorner attempted to hijack a yacht at a San Diego harbor to flee to Mexico, according to police. But he aborted the attempt, tied up the yacht owner, and fled. His wallet and LAPD badge were found in San Diego, police said. 
 
 PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings 
 
 After the aborting hijacking, Dorner was spotted by LAPD officers in Riverside, Calif., around 1:25 a.m. on Thursday as they were guarding at a home of one of his named targets in their patrol vehicle. They chased Dorner and exchanged gunfire with him. Dorner injured one officer. 
 
 Around 20 minutes later, Dorner pulled up across from a Riverside police department patrol car at a stop light and fired his rifle at them, killing one officer and injuring another before fleeing. 
 
 The shootings initiated a widespread response from southern California law enforcement agencies who stationed heavily armed guards outside of police departments and the homes of Dorner's possible targets, stopped answering low level 911 calls, and pulled motorcycle officers off of their bikes in order to protect them. 
 
 Dorner just finished his military career as a lieutenant last Friday. His only overseas deployment was to a Navy base in Bahrain. He received a Rifle Marksman Ribbon and Pistol Expert Medal, meaning he received superior scores when he tested at the range. 
 
 Police described Dorner as black, 6-feet tall and weighing 270 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. ||||| The bustling winter resort of Big Bear took on the appearance of a ghost town Thursday as surveillance aircraft buzzed overhead and police in tactical gear and carrying rifles patrolled mountain roads in convoys of SUVs, while others stood guard along major intersections. 
 
 Even before authorities had confirmed that the torched pickup truck discovered on a quiet forest road belonged to suspected gunman Christopher Dorner, 33, officials had ordered an emergency lockdown of local businesses, homes and the town's popular ski resorts. Parents were told to pick up their children from school, as rolling yellow buses might pose a target to an unpredictable fugitive on the run. 
 
 By nightfall, many residents had barricaded their doors as they prepared for a long, anxious evening. 
 
 PHOTOS: A tense manhunt amid tragic deaths 
 
 "We're all just stressed," said Andrea Burtons as she stocked up on provisions at a convenience store. "I have to go pick up my brother and get him home where we're safe." 
 
 Police ordered the lockdown about 9:30 a.m. as authorities throughout Southern California launched an immense manhunt for the former lawman, who is accused of killing three people as part of a long-standing grudge against the LAPD. Dorner is believed to have penned a long, angry manifesto on Facebook saying that he was unfairly fired from the force and was now seeking vengeance. 
 
 Big Bear manhunt: In the Feb. 8 LATExtra section, an article about the manhunt for ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner said that Big Bear has roughly 400 homes, and that authorities guessed that only 40% are occupied year-round. In fact, authorities planned to search 400 homes, of which 40% are vacation homes not occupied year-round. Big Bear Lake, where the search is taking place, has about 9,000 homes, according to the 2010 Census 
 
 Forest lands surrounding Big Bear Lake are cross-hatched with fire roads and trails leading in all directions, and the snow-capped mountains can provide both cover and extreme challenges to a fugitive on foot. It was unclear whether Dorner was prepared for such rugged terrain. 
 
 Footprints were found leading from Dorner's burned pickup truck into the snow off Forest Road 2N10 and Club View Drive in Big Bear Lake. 
 
 San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said that although authorities had deployed 125 officers for tracking and door-to-door searches, officers had to be mindful that the suspect may have set a trap. 
 
 "Certainly. There's always that concern and we're extremely careful and we're worried about this individual," McMahon said. "We're taking every precaution we can." 
 
 PHOTOS: A fugitive's life on Facebook 
 
 Big Bear has roughly 400 homes, but authorities guessed that only 40% are occupied year-round. 
 
 The search will probably play out with the backdrop of a winter storm that is expected to hit the area after midnight. 
 
 Up to 6 inches of snow could blanket local mountains, the National Weather Service said. 
 
 FULL COVERAGE: Sweeping manhunt for rampaging ex-cop 
 
 Gusts up to 50 mph could hit the region, said National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Moede, creating a wind-chill factor of 15 to 20 degrees. 
 
 Extra patrols were brought in to check vehicles coming and going from Big Bear, McMahon said, but no vehicles had been reported stolen. ||||| On the day Christopher Dorner was fired from the Los Angeles Police Department, officials took the unusual step of summoning armed guards to stand watch at his disciplinary hearing downtown. 
 
 Those present were nervous that Dorner might do something rash when he learned that he was being stripped of his badge. He was a hulking, muscled man and his body language left no doubt about the anger seething out of him. 
 
 "It was clear… that he was wound way too tight," said a police official who attended Dorner's termination hearing and requested anonymity because of safety concerns. 
 
 PHOTOS: A tense manhunt amid tragic deaths 
 
 That day four years ago, authorities now allege, was the start of a free fall into despair and deadly violence for Dorner. Police say the 33-year-old ex-cop killed three people and injured others on a campaign to exact revenge against those he blamed for his downfall. 
 
 Friends and acquaintances who knew Dorner before he became a police officer struggled to reconcile the person they remembered with the image of the deeply disturbed man that emerged Thursday from a rambling manifesto that authorities said was published on what they believe is Dorner's Facebook page. The manifesto portrays Dorner as having no choice but to kill in order to reclaim his destroyed reputation. 
 
 "I am a man who has lost complete faith in the system, when the system betrayed, slandered and libeled me," the manifesto states. 
 
 PHOTOS: A fugitive's life on Facebook 
 
 Born in New York state, Dorner grew up in Southern California with his mother and at least one sister, according to public records and claims in the manifesto. 
 
 Dorner felt isolated growing up as one of the few African American children in the neighborhoods where he lived and was the victim of racism, according to the manifesto. "My first recollection of racism was in the first grade," Dorner allegedly wrote, recalling a fellow student at Norwalk Christian School who called him a racial slur. Dorner said he responded "fast and hard," punching and kicking the student. 
 
 It was an early, telling illustration of a notion Dorner returned to repeatedly throughout his life — that he was a victim, often wronged by others, records show. 
 
 As a teenager in La Palma, Dorner joined the Police Department's youth program, and decided to pursue a career in law enforcement. 
 
 Dorner went on to enroll at Southern Utah University, where he joined the school's football team and was befriended by a teammate, Jamie Usera. 
 
 Usera, who grew up in Alaska, said he and Dorner bonded over the feelings of culture shock that came with being outsiders on the predominantly white, Mormon campus. 
 
 Usera said he introduced Dorner to hunting and other outdoor sports. "He was a typical guy," he said. "I liked him an awful lot. Nothing about him struck me as violent or irrational in any way. He was opinionated, but always seemed level-headed." 
 
 Dorner often brought up race issues and the two had heated, but respectful arguments about the extent of racism in the country, Usera said. "Of all the people I hung out with in college, he is the last guy I would have expected to be in this kind of situation." 
 
 Neil Gardner, an assistant athletic director, knew Dorner through football and echoed Usera, saying Dorner was "never a disgruntled guy." 
 
 Dorner graduated in 2001 with a degree in political science and, soon after, enlisted in the Navy. Over the next several years, military records indicate Dorner received extensive combat and counter-terrorism training and earned commendations for his marksmanship with rifles and pistols. 
 
 In 2005, while still enlisted in the military, Dorner applied to the LAPD and earned a spot in one of the department's training academy classes. An officer in Dorner's class who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to discuss the case, recalled Dorner as "one of our problem children" who frequently pushed the bounds of authority . 
 
 A few days into training, the recruits were explicitly told to only wear white or black shoes for a conditioning run, the officer said. Dorner, however, showed up in bright neon sneakers. "He thought he knew it all, that rules just kind of didn't apply to him," the officer said. "He was not a team player." 
 
 According to the officer, Dorner was kicked out of his academy class at least one time, when he accidentally shot himself in the hand. Internal disciplinary records show that Dorner was suspended for two days for an accidental discharge in 2005. He finished his training with another academy class, the officer said, and joined the force as an officer in February 2006, police records show. 
 
 Months later, the Navy called him back into service and he departed for a 13-month deployment in Bahrain. When Dorner returned to the LAPD in July 2007, he had not yet completed his mandatory probation year and was partnered with Teresa Evans, a training officer in the San Pedro area. 
 
 Evans would later tell internal affairs investigators that Dorner confessed to her on the first day they worked together that he was unhappy with the way the LAPD handled a complaint he made against some of his classmates in the academy, according to police records. He believed the LAPD was a racist organization and told Evans he planned to sue the department at the end of his probation period, Evans reported. 
 
 Dorner repeatedly made mistakes in the field, Evans said. Shortly after becoming partners, they responded to a report of an armed man and Dorner stood in the middle of the street to confront the suspect without any cover, she said. Evans said she told Dorner that she was going to recommend that he be removed from the field unless he improved his performance, according to the internal affairs records. 
 
 Dorner, she said, repeatedly asked to return to the academy for more training after his return from military service and was upset that the department had not granted the request. On one occasion, Dorner cried in the patrol car with Evans and demanded the additional training, she said. 
 
 The struggling officer's ultimate undoing began on the morning of July 28, when he and Evans were dispatched to a report of a man who had refused to leave a local hotel. 
 
 The officers found the mentally ill man seated on a bench. When he refused a command to stand up, Dorner took the man's wrist and pulled him up, records show. A struggle ensued and Evans had to grab Dorner's Taser stun gun from his belt to subdue the man. 
 
 Nearly two weeks later, Evans criticized Dorner harshly in an evaluation report that included a long list of areas in which he needed improvement, including using common sense and good judgment. About the same time, Dorner called an LAPD sergeant whom he knew from the Navy and claimed he had witnessed Evans kick the man while he was being handcuffed. The sergeant told Dorner to report the incident to higher-ups or said he would do so himself. Dorner reported the misconduct, records show. 
 
 The department's internal affairs unit launched a probe into Dorner's allegations. Three hotel employees who witnessed much of the incident said they never saw Evans kick the man. And when the man arrived at the police station, he did not mention being kicked in the face when a physician treated him for his facial injuries. Investigators concluded there was no truth to Dorner's claim. 
 
 The witnesses' statements and Dorner's delay in coming forward "irreparably destroy Dorner's credibility," the department concluded in disciplinary records. Dorner was charged with making false statements and a false personnel complaint. 
 
 At Dorner's discipline hearing, the father of the man the partners arrested testified that his son had told him he had been kicked by an officer. Nonetheless the discipline board, found that Dorner had lied about the incident and fired him. 
 
 Dorner spent the next couple of years unsuccessfully appealing his termination. Then, this week, police say, Dorner made good on his threat to seek revenge when he fatally shot the daughter of an ex-LAPD captain who represented him at his discipline hearing. He also allegedly shot her fiance. Dorner went on to fatally shoot one officer and injure two others, police say. 
 
 "When the truth comes out," the manifesto states, "the killing stops." 
 
 joel.rubin@latimes.com 
 
 jack.leonard@latimes.com 
 
 kate.linthicum@latimes.com 
 
 Times staff writer Hailey Branson-Potts contributed to this report.
– The California resort town of Big Bear Lake has had a rough night. Los Angeles police officers have visited more than half the area's homes as they search for ex-cop Christopher Dorner; they're telling locals not to answer their doors unless they're sure who's knocking, ABC News reports. Meanwhile, surveillance aircraft are patrolling the skies and fleets of SUVs are keeping watch on the roads as the town is in lockdown, the Los Angeles Times reports. Police say they found Dorner's pickup truck torched on a forest road, with footprints trailing away through the snow. That snow could help hide Dorner, but could also make any movements on foot difficult, the Times notes. More details about Dorner's past are emerging: While longtime acquaintances recalled a "typical guy" who was "never disgruntled," police had long been concerned about him. Four years ago, when he faced a disciplinary hearing the day he was fired from the department, armed guards were on hand, the Times adds. "It was clear ... that he was wound way too tight," an officer says. Click to read about the bizarre package Dorner reportedly sent Anderson Cooper.