Christopher Dorner case: Big Bear couple’s 911 call released

San Bernardino County authorities released audio of the 911 call made by a husband and wife held captive by former LAPD Officer Christopher Dorner.

The couple, Karen and Jim Reynolds, told a dispatcher that they had arrived at their condo near Big Bear and found Dorner inside.

“I’m pretty sure he’s been here the whole time,” Karen Reynolds said, according to a recording of the call on KPCC’s website.

The Reynoldses and Rick Heltebrake, a camp ranger carjacked by Dorner, have filed claims for their share of a $1-million reward offered for information leading to the former officer’s capture. Police say that Dorner killed four people -- including two law enforcement officers -- in a revenge-fueled rampage before taking his own life in a Big Bear-area cabin on Feb. 12.

During the call, Karen Reynolds calmly tells the dispatcher that Dorner had tied them up and stolen the keys to their purple Nissan Rogue.

They estimated he had left 15 to 30 minutes before they were able to make the call.

FULL COVERAGE: Sweeping manhunt for ex-cop

“We walked in on him and then he left,” Karen Reynolds said. “We came into this unit and he was in here. He got us blindfolded and put stuff in our mouths and put pillowcases on our heads and had us tied up.”

She said Dorner was by himself, dressed in black and armed with an automatic gun, equipped with a silencer.

Karen Reynolds told the dispatcher multiple times that she believed Dorner may have been at the empty rental unit in the 1200 block of Club View Drive for several days -- “the whole time” authorities across Southern California were hunting for him.

PHOTOS: Manhunt for ex-LAPD officer

She said she worried that he may have seen the couple’s daughter and housekeeper outside.

“We don’t know for sure if he saw them or not,” she said.

A day after Dorner’s death, the couple told reporters at a news conference that they feared the worst even though Dorner tried to reassure them that he didn’t want to harm them.

“I really thought it could be the end,” Karen Reynolds said.

“He tried to calm us down, saying very frequently, he would not kill us,” said Jim Reynolds, who has owned the condo with his wife for 12 years. “He huddled down beside me and said, ‘You’re going to be quiet right? Not make a fuss and let me get away?’ ”

Their 911 call set in motion a chain of events that led to a shootout between Dorner and a state Fish and Wildlife warden, then to a standoff at another cabin, where he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Los Angeles Police said last week that three former judges will decide who will receive the $1-million reward.

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