(CNN) Human remains discovered by a man digging below his basement in October have been identified as his missing father, who disappeared in 1961, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.

"Now that we know he didn't abandon us it makes us feel better," the son, Michael Carroll, 57, said on Wednesday, adding "it was what I expected."

He said his family is taking it very hard. "When fiction becomes nonfiction, it changes the way you see the world."

Police released a statement Wednesday confirming that the remains belong to George Carroll, who disappeared when Michael was an infant. Police said the death is being investigated as a homicide.

Carroll said he expects police will have a difficult time making progress in their investigation because "everybody's gone in this story." He said his family plans to cremate his father's remains and hold a memorial for him in the spring. "I'm gonna try to make it something good," he said.

Read More