John Michael Carroll, originally from the Burley, disappeared from his residence in the area of 400 South 400 West in Victor in November 2005.

His wallet was later found stashed behind the toilet in his bathroom. It contained $7,000 in cash. The contents of his pockets, his keys and chewing tobacco were left on the table.

“He didn’t even take a coat,” said Carroll’s father, Dick. “It was November, and it was cold. He was just gone, that’s all there was to it.”

Mike’s vehicles were still at the residence as well.

Dick and Mike’s mother, Doris, still reside in Burley.

Dick said Mike, as his family called him, was in the middle of a divorce. He and his ex-wife, Tina Shepard, had just sold their home and made a hefty $100,000 profit on the deal. He still owed Tina $7,000, the exact amount of cash found in his wallet. Dick gave the money to Shepard.

Mike had visited his parents earlier that same month, and when his roommate, who was also from Burley, asked Mike if he wanted to go with him to visit family the weekend of his disappearance, Mike declined and said he was having satellite television installed the next day.

“He said that Mike seemed fine,” Dick said. “It didn’t seem like anything was wrong.”

When the roommate returned home and found the door locked, Mike’s vehicles in the drive and Mike missing, he called Dick. When Mike didn’t show up for his job at a lumber yard in Jackson Hole, Wyo., the police were notified.

Dick and Doris traveled to Victor the next day.

“As far as the police were concerned, Mike just left on his own,” Dick said.

Doris stayed in contact with the Teton County Sheriff’s Office for some time, but the family has had no contact with law enforcement officials for years.

Detective Rick Henry with the Teton County Sheriff’s Office did not return calls regarding this story Thursday.

Dick does not believe his son’s disappearance will ever he solved and he doubts that Mike is still alive.

“I don’t know what transpired,” Dick said. “He was either killed or he committed suicide, and I can’t see him doing that. None of the neighbors saw any cars. He would have had to walk away from there.”

Mike’s younger sister, Leslie Knox of Blackfoot, recalled a strange conversation she had with Mike shortly before he went missing.

“Mike called me and he said, ‘You know, I could just disappear. I know people that nobody knows. I could get a new ID and just disappear,’” Knox said. “I didn’t take it seriously — I probably laughed.”

Shortly after the strange call, Leslie said Mike said something that foretold his mysterious disappearance.

“Mike said if anything happened to him, I should look at his wife,” Knox said. “I believe she has been cleared as a suspect.”

Knox said along with the wad of cash in Mike’s wallet, he had two separate bank accounts. But neither of them has been touched since Mike went missing ,and his Social Security number has been inactive.

Other family members reported that Mike, who Knox described as a quiet guy, had been depressed about his divorce even though he had been the one who initiated the action.

“Mike was always kind of the black sheep of the family,” Knox said. “He always came home for holidays, but his wife really didn’t want to associate with us.

“Mike was a good-hearted guy. He would do anything for anybody.”

Knox said there has been no closure for her family, and she also doubts that the case will ever be solved. But she doesn’t believe that her brother just disappeared despite their strange conversation.

“Mike would have never left his money,” Knox said. “He was so tight he squeaked. He wouldn’t even buy a hamburger.”

Shepard, who also didn’t return calls Thursday, returned to Driggs to help search for Mike following his disappearance.

At the time of his disappearance, Mike had sideburns and long, blond or graying hair. He is 6-foot-1 and weighs about 165 pounds. His right arm and hand is contorted.

Mike would be now be 51 years old.

Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact the Teton County Sheriff’s Office at 208-354-2323.