Cold Trail and Blizzard Hamper Search for Ex-Officer in California Killings new

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. — The search for the former Los Angeles police officer wanted in three killings continued throughout Friday here, even as a blizzard covered the mountains with a foot of snow. But as no new traces of the suspect were found, the authorities wondered if he had somehow slipped through their fingers.

Law enforcement agencies from across Southern California had been on a regionwide manhunt since early Thursday for Christopher J. Dorner, 33, a former Navy reservist sought in connection with the shooting deaths of three people and the attempted shootings of several police officials.

Over the course of the week, since the first killing on Sunday, Mr. Dorner had been spotted all over Southern California, from Riverside to San Diego. His trail seemed to lead here on Thursday when a burned-out pickup truck found at the base of the mountain was identified as belonging to Mr. Dorner. Law enforcement followed tracks from the car into the nearby woods. With only a few routes in and out of town, they were confident they had Mr. Dorner cornered.

More than 100 law enforcement officers have spent the last two days combing the area, going door to door overnight, taking special care to investigate remote cabins and other vacation homes whose owners were away, and scanning the area by helicopter.

But they have been unable to turn up any new clues, Sheriff John McMahon of San Bernardino County, said at a news conference on Friday.

“We searched all night; we did not discover any additional evidence,” Sheriff McMahon said on Friday morning. “We will continue searching until either we discover that he left the mountain, or we find him.”

“We don’t have any evidence to suggest that he is or is not here,” he added.

For the second day in a row, local schools were closed, keeping schoolchildren and their yellow buses off the mountain roads in the midst of the search.

Still, as the search continued without new evidence, and the ski resort reopened, life in the town began to return to normal. Skiers and snowboarders flocked to the mountain to take advantage of the fresh powder. And both local residents and visitors expressed growing skepticism that Mr. Dorner was — or ever had been — in town. Instead, many thought the pickup truck was a diversion.

Cindy Johnston was in the Big Bear Lake area, about 100 miles east of Los Angeles, to ski with her family. “We’re being a little bit more careful, but that’s about it,” Ms. Johnston said. “We’re keeping the kids closer together and not going out so much at night. I think he’d be stupid if he was here, and he doesn’t seem stupid. There are too many people looking for him.”

Yvette Blunt, a Big Bear Lake resident, did not think Mr. Dorner was in town anymore, either.

“He left the car here to attract everyone here,” Ms. Blunt, 66, said. “That way, he can go somewhere else.”