Investigators think a Vancouver man may have been accidentally buried and killed while he was digging for treasure in Clark County.

kgw.com

James Moore as shown in a photo from police.

James L. Moore was reported missing by family members back in November of 2007 and few clues have surfaced. But now, detectives said they have reason to believe that Moore may have been digging near the Discovery Trail. They said while there has never been any report of treasure hidden in that area, Moore thought there was.

“Detectives believe that the area where Moore was possibly digging may have collapsed, killing him. Mr. Moore suffers from mental health issues and in the past has been known to dig very deep tunnels looking for treasure,” explained detective Kim Kapp with the Vancouver Police Department.

Search dogs will help police try to locate Moore's body at the excavation site, located near the Discovery Trail and just north of SR-500 and east of St. Johns Blvd. Kapp said the search was scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. on Wednesday.