Buried 'treasure' dug up in the Valley

OK, more loot than treasure. But when cops followed the map scrawled by burglar Roberto Caveda and dug where the X was marked near White Oak Avenue and the Reagan Freeway in Granada Hills, they found socks full of stolen jewelry "likely hidden long before Los Angeles' most prolific burglar was convicted last summer." More by Jason Kandel in the Daily News:

Diamond rings. Gold necklaces. Antique Rolexes. A canary diamond ring that, if real, could be worth as much as $400,000.

"My heart jumped out of my throat," said Los Angeles Police Department Detective Bill Longacre, who said he didn't want to estimate the value of the total treasure and would leave that up to an appraiser.

"Why did he give it up? Why did he keep this stuff? ... For him, it was the thrill of the hunt. It was a lifestyle he chose to excite himself."

Caveda drew the map recently in his cell at the Twin Towers jail.

Photo: Evan Yee / Daily News