Steven Carroll was 5 when his father, George, disappeared in 1961, leaving his children wondering what happened to their dad.
The son of a New York man who vanished nearly 60 years ago with no explanation as to where he may have gone has discovered bones buried in the basement his father’s home.
Steven Carroll was 5 when his father, George, disappeared in 1961, leaving his children wondering what happened to their dad.
“We felt abandoned as kids, but he was here the whole time,” Steven told NBC New York.
On Halloween, Steven and his brother, Michael, found a skeleton they believe to be their father in the basement of the Long Island home in which they and their two sisters grew up.
A missing persons report was never filed, nor are there are any records of police ever investigating the disappearance of a George Carroll, Suffolk County police told NBC. The Carroll brothers’ mother, Dorothy, said very little about her missing husband or what may have happened to him before she died in 1998, which Steven and Michael said they believe was because she was trying to protect them.
The home, which Dorothy and George moved into in 1957, now belongs to Michael.
Michael and his two sons made the surprising discovery after the family for years had speculated, for reasons unknown, that George may have been buried in the basement.
"It didn't just come up overnight; it's something that's been talked about for years," Michael, who was 8 months old when his father disappeared, told WABC-TV. "This is something as we grew up, you know. We heard multiple stories."
They began excavating the cellar years ago and hit the remains, which were buried in cement, on Halloween.
An anthropologist will examine the remains to determine who they belong to, but the family is confident they already know.
“I believe it’s my dad,” Michael told the New York Post.
If the remains belong to George, his family wants to give him a proper burial at Calverton National Cemetery to honor him for his service in the Korean War, his loved ones said.
“I feel great that my dad is free from that crappy hole. I want him to be a soldier,” Michael said. “I want him to get what he needs.”
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