What happened to George Carroll? Details explored ahead of the release of The Secrets We Bury on ID

George Carroll went missing from his suburban Lake Grove, Long Island, home in 1961 with his wife, Dorothy, and their four children. More than fifty years went by with the family thinking that Carroll just left with what his wife said was a walk for cigarettes, a habitual practice of his.

However, what would happen is that in 2018, skeletal remains would be found in the basement of that same residence, indicating that George Carroll had actually been killed through blunt force trauma. This dark truth brought an end to years of questions but raised new ones about the identity of the killer.

This is one of many cases that illustrate that hidden truths have a way of rising to the surface through the course of multiple generations. While evidence from law enforcement suggests that it is murder, as of yet, no one has been taken into custody, both of the suspects, either Dorothy or her second husband, Richard Darress, having both died. 

The case is explored in the Investigation Discovery series The Secrets We Bury, airing on December 16, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET on ID, with streaming available on Max immediately after. 

The Secrets We Bury: The disappearance of George Carroll

One such person was George Carroll, who was a Korean War veteran with the distinct honor of driving Marilyn Monroe on a USO tour. He lived a quiet life in Lake Grove, New York, with his wife Dorothy and their four children, who were all below the age of 10, in 1961.

He was a truck driver who was respected in his neighborhood for being reliable. It was a normal day for George Carroll, who left his house on Olive Street, assuring his wife that he would be back shortly. He never came back that day or the day after. It wasn't long before the children were told by Dorothy that their father had left them for good.

He had gone out to purchase some cigarettes, but never wanted to return home. This is how their story became the official one in the family despite murmurs among their relatives that something more sinister had happened. No report of a missing person was filed with the authorities. This would come into question much later.

George Carroll's absence left emotional scars; his son Michael, just eight months old at the time, grew up without memories of his father. Dorothy remarried quickly to Richard Darress, a trucker who moved into the home shortly after George's departure.

Construction work happened around the property during this period, but no one connected it to the missing man then. The family adapted to life without George, focusing on survival amid the confusion. Years passed, and the house remained a symbol of unresolved loss, with the children occasionally hearing vague rumors from extended family about George Carroll's possible fate, as per ABC News.

Family rumors and the psychic's guidance

As the Carroll children grew into adults, fragments of family lore began to surface, casting doubt on the abandonment narrative. George's brother once confided to son Michael that relatives suspected murder, possibly linked to the home itself.

These stories circulated quietly, fueled by Dorothy's evasive answers over the years. She maintained George Carroll had left voluntarily, perhaps returning to South Korea from his military days, but offered no proof. 

Tensions simmered, especially as Dorothy and Darress lived in the house until her death in 1998. Darress passed away in Mexico in 2018, taking any potential knowledge with him. In 2010, Michael's sister Jean sought clarity through a psychic medium, who claimed George Carroll had been killed and buried in the basement, an echo of the old rumors.

This session, though unconventional, motivated the family to consider action. Michael, who had bought the property from his mother in 1993, started preliminary digs years earlier but paused due to structural concerns.

Ground-penetrating radar later detected soil disturbances about five feet below the surface, aligning with the psychic's words. The siblings, Michael, Steven, Patricia, and Jean, shared these leads, rebuilding bonds strained by decades of grief. No concrete evidence emerged yet, but the psychic's input shifted their focus from acceptance to pursuit, according to Daily Mail. 

The excavation and shocking discovery

By October 2018, Michael Carroll, now 57 and a respiratory therapist, committed to unearthing the truth with help from his sons, Chris and Michael Jr. They began methodical digging in the basement, targeting the area flagged by radar. Months of labor followed, breaking through concrete and soil in the family's longtime home.

On Halloween eve, about four to five feet down, they uncovered human bones, including a skull. Michael immediately recognized the site as the spot from family stories. Suffolk County Police arrived after his call, initially skeptical but confirming the remains were human.

The bones were sent to the county medical examiner, where an anthropologist examined them. Forensic tests, including dental records, verified that the skeleton belonged to George Carroll. The discovery stunned the family, validating long-held fears while confirming George Carroll's death as a homicide.

Blunt force trauma to the skull provided key evidence, though the exact timing relative to death remained unclear. News outlets covered the find, drawing public interest to the 57-year-old mystery. For Chris and Michael Jr., the dig was both laborious and emotional, sifting through layers of history in their grandfather's shadow, as ABC News reported. 

The ongoing investigation and family reflections

Suffolk County Police launched a murder probe after confirming the homicide ruling, reviewing records from 1961 onward. Investigators noted the absence of a missing persons report and focused on Dorothy and Darress as persons of interest, given their proximity and the home's construction timeline.

George Carroll's children believe Darress may have acted alone or with Dorothy, citing her motive amid marital strains, though no direct evidence ties them conclusively. Autopsies and scene processing yielded the trauma details, but they struggled with decomposition effects.

As of late 2025, no charges have been filed, and authorities acknowledge challenges in solving such an old case without living witnesses. The family has coped through therapy and shared stories, with Michael's persistence driving public appeals for tips.

Siblings like Steven and Patricia have spoken of mixed relief and sorrow, finally laying George Carroll to rest in a proper burial. The case illustrates forensic limits in historical crimes, relying on family input for context. It also emphasizes the value of revisiting cold leads, as the Carrolls' efforts brought partial justice, according to ABC News.

Watch The Secrets We Bury, releasing on December 16, 2025, on ID.