In 1587, John White left 117 colonists at Roanoke and sailed to England. 3 years later, he returned and found over 100 settlers vanished, leaving behind the mysterious word CROATOAN

In 1587, John White left Roanoke Island after English settlers established a colony there. He had been sent back to England to obtain supplies and additional help for the settlers. White would not return for three years. When he finally reached Roanoke Island in 1590, he found the settlement abandoned. The colonists were gone, and two mysterious carvings provided the only clues White found about where they might have gone: “CRO” carved into a tree and “CROATOAN” carved into a post in the settlement’s palisade, as per a National Park Service report. The fate of the Roanoke colonists has never been definitively established.

John White Left Roanoke in 1587