A Son’s Haunting Discovery: Unearthing Family Secrets and Closure

In a gripping tale of persistence and family mystery, a man’s decades-long search for his missing father came to a startling conclusion in the basement of his childhood home. On Halloween eve 2018, Chris Carroll struck something unusual while digging in the basement of his family’s Lake Grove, Long Island house. What initially appeared to be rags and bones turned out to be the skeletal remains of his grandfather, George Carroll, who had vanished mysteriously in 1963. This remarkable discovery, which came after months of excavation initiated by Chris’s father Michael Carroll, forms the heart of a new documentary, “The Secrets We Bury,” premiering December 16 on Investigation Discovery.

The story began over fifty years earlier when George Carroll, a Korean War veteran, disappeared when his son Michael was just eight months old. For decades, the family was told by their mother Dorothy that George had simply “gone out for cigarettes and never came back.” Alternative theories suggested he might have met a woman in Korea and started a new life. Strangely, George was never officially reported missing. The mystery haunted Michael Carroll and his sister Jean Kennedy throughout their lives, prompting them to seek answers through unconventional means. In 2010, Jean convinced her skeptical brother to consult a psychic, who made the startling claim that George had been murdered and buried in the basement—the very home Michael had purchased from his mother in 1993.

Driven by this revelation and a deep-seated belief that his father would never have abandoned his family willingly, Michael began digging in the basement. What started as an unlikely search based on a psychic’s tip eventually led to a grim discovery that police initially dismissed as a prank. When authorities finally investigated, they confirmed the remains belonged to George Carroll and classified his death as a homicide due to blunt force trauma to the skull. The documentary’s director, Patricia E. Gillespie, became involved just days after the discovery, developing a close relationship with the family as they processed this shocking revelation. “For many, many years, people thought Mike and his sister Jean Kennedy were crazy,” Gillespie explained. “They were just told, ‘Your dad left. Why can’t you accept this?'”

The unearthing of George’s remains was just the beginning of a deeper journey into the family’s complex history. Michael Carroll suspected his former stepfather, Richard Darress, might have been responsible for his father’s disappearance. Darress was a young handyman hired by George who later married Dorothy and fathered a son with her. The Carroll siblings described him as physically abusive, with allegations that he had sexually assaulted the girls in the family. This revelation created a difficult position for Darress’s biological son, Richie, who appeared in the documentary. Rather than denying his siblings’ claims, Richie chose to believe them, showing remarkable strength in prioritizing their experiences over defending his father’s reputation. Darress died in Mexico in June 2018, just months before George’s remains were discovered, taking any potential confession with him.

Dorothy Carroll, who passed away from cancer in 1998, remains a complex figure in the family narrative. While speculation exists about her potential involvement in George’s disappearance—especially given her cryptic remarks that he wasn’t “a good guy”—her children have steadfastly defended her memory. “What struck me most was their unyielding defense of their mother. They are united by their love for her to this day,” Gillespie observed. This loyalty persists despite the “complicated stuff” within the family and the unanswered questions that will likely remain forever, as most key witnesses had died by the time George was found. The documentary delves into this emotional complexity, exploring how family members reconcile their love for someone while acknowledging difficult truths.

On October 25, 2019, George Carroll was finally laid to rest with military honors at a national cemetery on Long Island, providing a measure of closure to a family that had wondered about his fate for over half a century. While police acknowledge they may never determine exactly how he died, the discovery brought resolution to the Carroll family in ways that transcended the mere solving of a mystery. “There’s a feeling that you can finally grieve, that you’ve done what you needed to do for your family—both the ones who are here and the ones who are gone,” Gillespie reflected after learning the family had finally filled the hole in the basement. The story of the Carroll family demonstrates the enduring impact of unresolved loss, the complicated nature of family bonds, and the healing power of truth—however difficult it may be to unearth. Their journey reminds us that sometimes the deepest family secrets lie not in distant lands but literally beneath our feet, waiting to be discovered by those brave enough to dig.