Authorities will be digging for clues near Moorpark next month to find out if remains discovered by cadaver dogs and groundpenetrating radar belong to a teenage boy who went missing in December 1968.

Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department suspect that 15-year-old Roger Dale Madison of Sylmar may have been slain in a local orange grove and buried near the 23 Freeway by notorious child serial killer Mack Ray Edwards around 40 years ago.

Edwards, who eventually confessed that he had molested and killed six children in Los Angeles County over two decades, was a heavy equipment operator and is believed to have worked freeway construction in the area in the late 1960s.

Edwards was convicted on several charges of kidnapping and murder but several other homicides possibly linked to the killer—who committed suicide at San Quentin state prison in 1971— remain unsolved. Police believe he may have killed up to 18 children during a 20-year period.

According to Doenetwork.org, the Sylmar boy whose remains may be buried in Ventura County was a friend and classmate of Edwards' son.

LAPD Detective Vivian Flores, who is leading the investigation, said police are hoping to find answers to cases beyond that of young Roger Madison.

"Several agencies have been working on this for a long time to provide closure for the families who still don't know what happened to their children," Flores said.

According to an article published in the Los Angles Times last year, new inquiries concerning the old case were sparked by the efforts of Pasadena author Weston DeWalt, who was researching the 1957 disappearance of 8-year-old Tommy Bowman.

While browsing through police files, the author recognized Edwards and began to suspect that the serial killer might also be connected to the Bowman incident.

In addition to Madison and Bowman, Edwards is suspected in the disappearances of Bruce Kremen and Karen Tompkins.