(NBC NEWS) -- The charred human remains located in the burned out cabin in Seven Oaks,
Calif., have been positively identified to be those of Christopher
Dorner, according to the San Bernadino County Sheriff's Department.
Officials said the positive identification was made through a dental examination during an autopsy.
The announcement puts a cap on one of the largest and deadliest manhunts in California history.
The
LAPD, which had been under a series of tactical alerts while Dorner was
on the lam, cautiously returned to normal operations on Wednesday, a
day after the suspect believed to be Dorner was cornered in a cabin near
the Big Bear resort area.
Investigators had been combing the ski
resort area since last Thursday, when Dorner's burned out Nissan truck
was found there hours after he allegedly ambushed cops in two cities,
killing Officer Michael Crain.
Days earlier, police believe,
Dorner executed the daughter of a retired police captain and her fiancé
in Irvine to kick off a killing spree that sowed fear across the region
and in the ranks of law-enforcement.
All three slayings were
suspected to be connected to Dorner and the plans he allegedly laid out
in a manifesto targeting law enforcement officers and their families. He
was incensed at the LAPD after being fired for filing a false
complaint.
In a shootout on Tuesday, Dorner killed a fourth
person, Sheriff's Deputy Jeremiah MacKay, and wounded another officer as
he tried to escape the manhunt.
Hasani Gittens, NBC News Editor