Authorities said they were on Friday evening suspending the ground and aerial search in the Big Bear area for a disgruntled former LAPD officer suspected of orchestrating a series of revenge killings.

Deputies who had been participating the methodical search of some 200 mountain cabins and other buildings during the manhunt for Christopher Dorner were coming off the mountain at sundown, according to a press release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department.

"Today they've had in excess of 200 cabins and after nightfall, that'll be complete. The search is continuing," San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said at a 4 p.m. news conference.

"The search will continue tomorrow after they come out of the forest tonight," Bachman said.

Ground efforts were set to resume 7 a.m. Saturday.

The aerial search was suspended because of heavy snowfall that had lasted throughout the day, the department said in its press release.