Lt. Patrick Foy, Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman, said the five wardens involved in the Dorner chase were all highly trained and had just received rifles. (Irfan Khan, Los Angeles Times / ) 
 
 While law enforcement officials scoured the hillsides above Big Bear on Tuesday for murder suspect Christopher Dorner, wardens from California's Department of Fish and Wildlife were called in to patrol the rugged terrain of Highway 38. 
 
 It was on that highway that the officers first encountered Dorner, engaging the former cop in a white-knuckle chase involving two commandeered vehicles. The pursuit culminated in what officials described as a wild shootout between Dorner and a state game warden. 
 
 The actions by alert wildlife officers may have set in motion Dorner's last stand — in a snowbound cabin, surrounded by police. The cabin burned to the ground and there were conflicting reports over whether a body had been found inside. 
 
 PHOTOS: Manhunt for ex-LAPD officer 
 
 Details of the chase over icy rural roads emerged late Tuesday as authorities pieced together what appeared to be the fugitive's last, desperate movements. 
 
 The encounter began about 12:45 p.m. as Dorner was driving a purple Nissan on Highway 38 when he passed a Fish and Wildlife vehicle. 
 
 Dorner's car was tucked behind buses when officers saw him and swung their cars around in pursuit. The murder suspect, authorities said, attempted to evade them by turning off onto Glass Road. At some point, they said, Dorner crashed and abandoned the small car. 
 
 TIMELINE: Manhunt for ex-LAPD officer 
 
 With officers still in pursuit, Dorner then stopped a truck driven by local resident Rick Heltebrake, ordering him out. Heltebrake, a ranger at a nearby Boy Scout camp, didn't want to leave his dog behind. 
 
 Dorner allowed Heltebrake and his Dalmatian, Suni, to get out and then took off, according to an account from a friend of Heltebrake. 
 
 Behind the wheel of the stolen truck, Dorner was once again careening down Glass Road and passed another Fish and Wildlife vehicle coming from the opposite direction, officials said. Again an officer recognized Dorner. 
 
 FULL COVERAGE: Sweeping manhunt for ex-cop 
 
 That officer radioed his colleagues traveling behind him that Dorner was heading their way in a silver pickup truck. 
 
 When Dorner saw a third Fish and Wildlife truck approaching, he rolled down his window and allegedly took aim. Dorner opened fire as the vehicle passed, strafing the truck with a handgun, officials said. 
 
 The badly damaged state truck skidded to a halt. A game warden exited the vehicle and fired a high-powered rifle several times as Dorner sped away, according to authorities. 
 
 Dorner subsequently crashed that truck, authorities said, and ran into the cabin. 
 
 For days, multiple law enforcement agencies from across Southern California had been searching for Dorner. But Fish and Wildlife, whose wardens are involved in about one shooting a year, encountered him first. 
 
 Tuesday's gun battle was the second incident in seven weeks involving game wardens being fired upon. 
 
 And while the five wardens were "certainly rattled," said Lt. Patrick Foy, Fish and Wildlife spokesman, they were all highly trained and had just received the rifles. 
 
 As for their part in the day's drama, given the casualties suffered by law enforcement, "nobody's really celebrating," Foy said. 
 
 julie.cart@latimes.com 
 
 matt.stevens@latimes.com ||||| Ex-cop was hiding in cabin across from sheriff's outpost 
 
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 The cabin ex-cop fugitive Christopher Dorner is hiding in happens to be very close to command post from where San Bernardino authorities have been running their search operation, CBS correspondent John Miller reports. 
 
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 Tuesday afternoon, authorities closed in on Dorner, who is wanted for three murders and has been on the run for over a week. The search for the former police officer, believed to be motivated by revenge, prompted a widespread manhunt that stretched from Big Bear, Calif., to the Mexico border. 
 
 Officers first sighted Dorner Tuesday afternoon in Big Bear, close to where they found his abandoned, burned out pickup truck a week ago. 
 
 Sources tell Miller Dorner is using a highpowered sniper rifle, a .50-caliber Barrett. 
 
 "This is an extraordinarily high-powered rifle, the kind that is used by the military," Miller reports. 
 
 SWAT teams and LAPD were on the scene Tuesday afternoon, and more SWAT resources were on their way to assist Bernardino. ||||| The discovery of a man that police believe to be fugitive ex-cop Christopher Jordan Dorner began when two maids stumbled upon him Tuesday as they arrived to clean a vacant cabin near ski resorts in the Big Bear area. 
 
 The suspect was found close to where law enforcement officials held news conferences over the weekend concerning their search for Dorner, 33, and near where Dorner’s car was set aflame last week. 
 
 Just after the maids saw the suspect, he tied the two up, took a car from the residence and left, according to a law enforcement official. One of the maids was eventually able to break free at the residence in the 1200 block of Club View Drive, close to Snow Summit and Bear Mountain Resort, and called 911 at 12:20 p.m. 
 
 PHOTOS: Manhunt for ex-LAPD officer 
 
 Then, at 12:45 p.m., according to state Fish and Wildlife officials, the suspect was allegedly driving a purple Nissan on California 38 when he passed a marked vehicle driven by the agency’s law enforcement officers. 
 
 They recognized the suspect as he passed and swung their vehicle around in pursuit. 
 
 The suspect attempted to evade them by turning off onto Glass Road, and at some point crashed and abandoned the small car. 
 
 INTERACTIVE MAP: Searching for suspected shooter 
 
 With officers still in pursuit, the suspect then stopped a truck driven by resident Rick Heltebrake, ordering him out. Heltebrake, a ranger at a nearby Boy Scout camp, didn’t want to leave his dog behind, a Dalmatian named Suni. 
 
 The suspect allowed them both to get out and then took off in vehicle, according to an account from a friend of Heltebrake.
– Details on how police found Christopher Dorner are becoming clearer, after charred remains believed to be those of the fugitive ex-cop were found in a Big Bear cabin last night: The beginning of the end for Dorner started yesterday morning, when two maids arrived to clean a vacant cabin and found Dorner inside. He tied them up, then stole a car from the cabin and fled, the Los Angeles TImes reports. (Dorner was initially reported to have tied up a couple.) One of the maids escaped and called police at 12:20pm. Less than half an hour later, Fish and Wildlife officers spotted Dorner driving a purple Nissan. Recognizing him, they started following. In trying to evade them, Dorner crashed the car and left it. He then stopped a local man and took his truck, after allowing him and his dog to exit. Dorner once again drove by Fish and Wildlife officials, and was once again recognized. That's when he started shooting, hitting the Fish and Wildlife truck as he passed within two feet of it. The game warden inside, a former Marine, shot back as Dorner drove off. Once again, he crashed his vehicle and fled into the woods. Dorner ended up in the cabin where the standoff took place, starting with a firefight that killed one sheriff's deputy and injured another. After breaking windows, firing tear gas, and asking Dorner to surrender, authorities started ripping down the cabin's walls. When they reached the last wall, they heard one gunshot, and then a fire started spreading. More gunshots were heard, presumably set off by the flames. The incident was a rare one for Fish and Wildlife wardens, who are typically involved in just one shooting per year, the Times notes. An odd detail from CBS: The cabin Dorner ended up in was right across from the command post from which the manhunt had been centered.