Tipsters Who Helped Track Down Dorner to Share $100,000 Reward from L.A. County

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved paying $100,000 in reward money to tipsters that helped law enforcement track down former Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner, who killed a retired LAPD captain's daughter and her fiance, a Riverside police officer from Beaumont, and a Yucaipa sheriff's detective who lived in Redlands.


Karen and Jim Reynolds, tied up by Dorner in their Big Bear cabin, will get $80,000, and Daniel McGowan, who reported Dorner's burned-out pickup the day a massive manhunt shifted from Riverside to the San Bernardino Mountains, will be paid $20,000, based on the board's unanimous vote.

In February this year, authorities believe Dorner killed four people in 10 days: Monica Quan, the daughter of a retired LAPD captain, Quan's fiance, Keith Lawrence, Riverside police Officer Michael Crain, and San Bernardino County sheriff's Detective Jeremiah MacKay.

Dorner began his killing spree in Irvine Feb. 3, when he ambushed and fatally shot Quan and Lawrence in a parking garage, according to law enforcement. 

Early Feb. 7, while authorities across at least five counties sought Dorner, he shot two Riverside police officers at a red light, Crain and paralyzing Andrew Tachias from the neck down.

The manhunt ended Feb. 12 in a fiery shootout east of Angelus Oaks and south of Big Bear, where Dorner was holed up in an unoccupied cabin. MacKay was killed in the shootout, deputies deployed pyrotechnic tear gas grenades, and Dorner died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head as the cabin went up in flames around him.

Four claims were made against the $100,000 offered by Los Angeles County. Based on input from the Sheriff's Department, county lawyers and a three-judge panel responsible for determining the allocation of rewards from various public entities, the board chose to pay two of four claimants.

McGowan provided the first solid evidence that Dorner was in the Big Bear area. He had abandoned his truck and set it afire.

Dorner held the Reynolds at gunpoint, tied them up and stole their vehicle. They called police as soon as they broke free, and their description of the vehicle led to Dorner.

Others staked a claim to the reward money, including scout camp caretaker Rick Heltebrake who was carjacked by Dorner, but they were determined to be ineligible for reward money because police were in pursuit of Dorner by the time the new information was called in.

The Reynoldses also received 80 percent of a $1 million reward offered by the city of Los Angeles, and McGowan received 15 percent. Lee McDaniel, a Corona tow truck driver who spotted Dorner at an am/pm gas station during the manhunt, received 5 percent of the $1 million.