"My company was starting to get a little nervous about the idea that he had not been seen for several days, would have had time to begun to move around, so in response to their concerns they had just begun a threat-assessment process here in the event that there was a sighting in this area," Bratton said.

In Los Angeles, 50 protection details had guarded Dorner's possible targets. In an online rant, Dorner pledged revenge against those he says were responsible for his being fired from the LAPD, CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports.

Dorner claims he was wrongly dismissed when he complained his training officer had used excessive force. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck had reopened the case, "not to appease him but to make sure that the community understands that we're transparent and we value fairness," Beck said.

In a Wednesday morning briefing, LAPD spokesman Lt. Andy Neiman said "approximately a dozen or so" of the protection details would continue until the department and the people being protected felt safe.

"We still have some individuals in this department who are still in great fear," Neiman told reporters. "When your life and the lives of your family are placed in jeopardy and threatened with death, that's quite something to deal with."

Late Tuesday, heavily armed officers finally cornered their suspect. They fired tear gas and deployed vehicles to rip down the house where he was holed up. Then, a single gunshot from inside. Smoke and flames soon poured from the cabin.

Multiple rounds of exploding ammunition could be heard in the crackle of the fire, but no one was ever seen running from the burning building.

For several hours, there were reports that the cabin was too hot and too dangerous for authorities to enter, but now officials have said they found a charred body inside. The coroner will investigate and only then will they be able to positively identify the body.

Miller reported that San Bernardino County authorities are "very confident" the body is Dorner's, noting the powerful weapon and the smoke grenade the gunman used in the standoff.

"These are not things that would be consistent with any other criminal they would be chasing up here," said Miller. "This guy came up there armed to the teeth."

Because Dorner was with the military and the LAPD, authorities will be able to match his DNA, fingerprints and other records on file against the body when it is recovered from the burned-down house.

Investigators had been on Dorner's trail since he allegedly started gunning for police officers and their families last week. On Sunday night, a reported sighting at a Lowe's hardware store near Los Angeles led to a massive police response. The dragnet extended south, where agents searched every car crossing the Mexican border.

Dorner's rampage began Feb. 3 in Irvine, Calif., when police say he shot and killed Keith Lawrence, 27, and his fiancee Monica Quan, a 28-year-old college basketball coach. Quan was the daughter of retired former LAPD Capt. Randal Quan, who defended Dorner in disciplinary hearings that resulted in his termination.