What to Know
- Missing man's grandsons digging in Long Island basement on a hunch unearthed his remains on Halloween, authorities say
- They had been excavating the basement over the last few months and hit the remains below concrete
- The family thinks they found the remains of George Carroll, who vanished in 1961; a DNA test has to be performed
UPDATE: 'He Was Here the Whole Time': Long-Missing Man's Son Talks Basement Bones Discovery, Family Mystery
After years of speculation -- and months of digging in their basement -- a family unearths what they think are the long-lost remains of a family patriarch who disappeared more than 50 years ago.
No, it's not the plot of a ghastly blockbuster. Police say it's a very real discovery made by the Carroll family on Long Island this Halloween.
Authorities say they got a call from the Lake Grove family around 2 p.m. Wednesday. When officers arrived at the home on Olive Street, homeowner Michael Carroll met them to report human remains in the basement.
But these weren't just any remains, Carroll told police. He thought they belonged to his father, George Carroll, who vanished in 1961.
The family never knew what happened to him. But police say for reasons that weren't clear as of Wednesday evening, the family had always thought he might be buried in the home.
It was that hunch that led the missing man's grandsons to start digging.
Local
They excavated the basement over the last few months, police say. And coincidentally, they hit the remains -- which sat below concrete -- on Halloween.
Police say a DNA test will need to be performed to confirm George Carroll is the body found in the basement, but they suspect it is in fact him.
Suffolk County police say a medical examiner, forensic anthropologist and investigators have all responded to the basement, but they had never been called there before.
