The true story behind ID’s The Secrets We Bury

The disappearance of George Carroll haunted his children for more than 50 years until a shocking basement discovery forced the truth to the surface.

In 1963, 30-year-old George Carroll vanished from his home in Lake Grove, Long Island. His wife, Dorothy, told their four children that he had gone out for cigarettes and never returned. No missing-person report was filed, no search was launched, and no investigation ever began.

For decades, the Carroll children lived with the belief that their father had abandoned them, a wound that shaped their childhood and cast a long shadow over their adult lives. The Secrets We Bury premieres December 16, 2025, on ID, with streaming available on Max. Through intimate interviews and emotional archival footage, the film follows the Carroll siblings as they confront long-buried secrets and finally uncover the truth about what happened to their father.

Inside the Carroll Household Before the Disappearance

George, a Korean War veteran, had moved his family into the modest Long Island home only a year before he vanished. According to the Carroll siblings, their parents’ marriage was strained, though they were too young to understand why. After George disappeared, Dorothy rarely spoke about him. Her children remember being told never to ask questions, a silence that left them with little more than confusion and resentment.

Unearthing the Truth — Literally

More than 50 years later, in 2018, George’s son Mike Carroll decided to search for answers on his own. A psychic had suggested that his father’s remains were hidden on the property, something Mike initially brushed off. But as old doubts resurfaced, he and his two sons began digging in the basement of the family home. What they found would rewrite the story of their father’s fate: skeletal remains buried beneath the concrete. Forensic testing later confirmed they belonged to George Carroll.

The discovery raised chilling questions. Why had Dorothy never reported George missing? How did his body end up in the basement?

Investigators suggested foul play, though no charges were ever filed due to the passage of time. For the Carroll siblings, the revelation was both devastating and strangely relieving proof that their father hadn’t abandoned them after all.

ID’s documentary The Secrets We Bury, directed by Patricia E. Gillespie, pieces together the family’s long search for answers using interviews, archival photos, and emotional testimony. It follows the Carroll siblings as they confront the truth hidden beneath their childhood home and finally unearthed their father’s story.

Like many true-crime cases resurfacing decades later, George Carroll’s story is ultimately about what families bury to survive and what happens when those secrets demand to be uncovered.

The Secrets We Bury premieres December 16, 2025, on ID, with streaming available on Max.