A Kansas City man picked up his gun early yesterday morning, headed down to the parking lot outside the Overland Park Police Station, and shot himself. A short while later his website went live.

On MartinManleyLifeAndDeath.com (now down, see mirror), the eponymous 60-year-old details every single aspect of both the life he led and the suicide he decided to commit on the very day typically reserved for celebrating his birth.

Manley prefaces the site with the following passage:

Before I get into the nuts and bolts of this site, I first must say to those whom I have a special bond with, please don't think that I didn't consider your feelings. I'm sorry... very sorry for the hurt and pain I will have caused by my actions. In all probability, I won't be able to justify it to you - at least not today. Maybe someday you will come to understand... better. If not today, maybe someday you will be able to read what I've said and learn why. Maybe someday you will be able to forgive me. I love you!

The site contains the many, many meticulous thoughts and ramblings of a man who harbored controversial opinions on everything from religion, to gun control, to 9-11, to sports.

Indeed, Manley was a pretty big deal in the sports world.

A former Kansas City Star writer, he is credited with inventing the NBA's Efficiency Rating.

After leaving the Star last year he kept writing on his personal sports blog, which was shut down yesterday with a final post that directed readers to his suicide website.

Aside from Manley's own writing, there has so far been no major organization confirming his death, excepting the Kansas City radio station 96.5 The Buzz.

Claiming to have in its possession an official report corroborating Manley's manner of suicide and the location in which it took place, The Buzz has also stumbled upon one of the more intriguing aspects of Manley's sprawling suicide note: The possibility that he left behind the coordinates for a veritable treasure trove of gold and silver.

Under the section entitled Suicide Preface, Manley insists that financial insecurity was not among his reasons for taking his own life.

"I had no financial problems. I sold my house which was completely paid for in 1998," he writes. "The same year I bought $30,000 in 1/10 ounce gold coins and pre 1965 silver coins. Gold was $300/ounce when I bought it and silver was $4/ounce. Gold went up to $1,700 and Silver to $44 making my stash worth over $200,000."

He then includes what appears to be GPS coordinates, leading some to believe he is directing readers to the location of his buried fortune.

The Buzz at least took the bait, and has sent out reporters to where X marks the spot in the hopes of finding out the truth.

The entire expedition is being streamed live on their website, and updates are being posted on Twitter with the hashtag #MartinManley.

More to come.

UPDATE: KCTV, the first major local news organization to report on Manley's death, has confirmed through police that he did indeed commit suicide yesterday morning around 5 AM.

However, Overland officers who have combed the scene of the alleged "buried treasure" say there is no gold to be found, and are referring to Manley's claim as a "hoax."

Family members who spoke with the news station apparently confirmed this, telling the CBS affiliate that Manley gave all his coins away prior to taking his own life.

[H/T: Reddit, video via Tony's Kansas City]