Henry Mora, 63, began digging 10 days ago after his gold detector reported a positive hit near his front patio. He told authorities he only intended to go down three or four feet.

"I figured, well, maybe there\'s something down there - you would logically conclude, right? So I started digging," the semiretired musician said.

He started finding gold dust in the dirt and the detector kept hinting that he was getting closer, so he kept digging.

"It was still beeping, and that just gave me the idea to keep digging," he said.

Fire officials called to the scene Tuesday found two men that Mora hired were inside the hole, using a bucket and rope to remove dirt.

"We told him, \'You\'re done,"\' said Montclair fire Capt. Rich Baldwin. "It\'s amazing no one got killed."

Authorities fenced off the property.

Henry Mora holds his industrial strength metal detector, which he used to identify the spot where he believes gold is buried in his Montclair, Calif. front yard.

Dude\'s lucky to be alive!!!!! Saw a guy die in a 4 foot hole once!!!!