The owners of a Big Bear, Calif., cabin, where fugitive Christopher Dorner is believed to have hidden out before making a getaway dash, say they discovered Dorner when they visited their unoccupied apartment unit.

Jim and Karen Reynolds told reporters Wednesday night in Big Bear that it was not two housekeepers, as widely reported, but themselves who discovered Dorner Tuesday morning in the apartment where he had taken refuge.

"We happened to walk in on him,'' Karen Reynolds said. The couple told reporters that Dorner tied them up, put washcloths in their mouths and used a cord to tie pillowcases over their heads and told them to keep quiet while he left in their car. They said after he had been gone about a minute, they broke free and were able to contact authorities.

Karen Reynolds said she screamed when she first saw him. Both said Dorner calmed them by saying he would not harm them if they helped him make his getaway.

"He tried to calm us down, saying very frequently he would not kill us,'' she said.

Earlier Wednesday, the San Bernardino County sheriff said that deputies did not intentionally burn down the Southern California mountain cabin where Dorner apparently made his deadly last stand.

"We did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out," Sheriff John McMahon said at an afternoon news conference.

He said deputies initially fired conventional "cold" tear gas into the cabin in Seven Oaks, near Big Bear Lake, then switched to "pyrotechnic-type" rounds" known as "burners."

Authorities have strong evidence that the man deputies tracked to the vacation cabin looked and behaved like Dorner, he said. And though he still could not "absolutely, positively confirm" that the charred body found inside was Dorner's, the sheriff said the coroner would likely make the determination "soon."

A wallet with a California driver's license bearing the name Christopher Dorner was found, the Associated Press reported earlier, citing a law enforcement official who was briefed on the investigation.

"We believe the investigation is over at this point," McMahon said.

It was also revealed that during the manhunt deputies had knocked on the door of the cabin, which was built in the 1920s, but moved on when they got no answer.

They do not believe Dorner was in the cabin, which showed no signs of forced entry and had not been rented since Feb. 6, the day before Dorner's burned-out pickup was found, said Sheriff's Deputy Chief Steve Kovensky, who was in charge of the search.

"We did an extensive search of that area," said Kovensky. "All the cabins in that particular area had teams of deputies to check to see if there was any entry and if we could make contact."

Law enforcement authorities investigate the burned cabin where accused murder suspect Christopher Dorner was believed to have died.(Photo: John Valenzuela, AP)