The Mystery of Croatoan
In 1587, John White led a group of 115 English settlers to Roanoke Island, off the coast of present-day North Carolina. He returned to England for supplies, expecting to be back within three months. Instead, war with Spain delayed his return for three years. When he finally stepped back onto the shores of Roanoke in 1590, the colony was gone. There were no bodies, no signs of struggle, and the houses had been dismantled.
The Only Clue Left Behind
The only trace of the settlers was a single word carved into a wooden post: “CROATOAN,” and the letters “CRO” carved into a tree. White assumed they had moved to Croatoan Island (now Hatteras Island), where a friendly Native American tribe lived. However, a storm prevented him from searching, and he was forced to return to England, leaving the settlers’ fate forever unknown.
- Assimilation Theory: The most widely accepted theory is that the starving colonists integrated with the local tribes. Decades later, European explorers reported seeing Native Americans with grey eyes and fair skin in the region.
- The Spanish Attack: Some historians suggest the Spanish, who knew of the colony and wanted to destroy English presence in the New World, wiped them out. But this doesn’t explain the lack of bodies or the orderly dismantling of the fort.
- The Dare Stones: A series of stones found in the 1930s, allegedly inscribed by White’s daughter Eleanor Dare, tell a tale of sickness and war. While most are considered hoaxes, the first stone is still debated by scholars.
The DNA Project: Today, the “Lost Colony DNA Project” is testing families in the area to find genetic links to the 1587 settlers. Until a match is found, Roanoke remains America’s oldest cold case.