10 Mysterious Disappearances You've Never Heard Of
7. The Colony Of Roanoke
This entry concerns an important piece of American history. Roanoke colony was established by Sir Walter Raleigh, under governor Ralph Lane, in 1585, on Roanoke Island, which now forms part of Dare County, North Carolina. It was intended to be the first permanent English settlement on the continent. Hampered by a lack of supplies and apparent poor relations with the local Native Americans, Lane abandoned the colony a year later.
A second expedition, led by John White, returned to the same island in 1587. Approximately 100 colonists formed this new settlement, and their fate is unknown to this day. White himself returned to England that same year, intending to bring back further supplies. Delayed by the Anglo-Spanish War, White did not reach Roanoke until three years later, in 1590.
He found the settlement entirely intact, but abandoned. Carved into the wooden palisade was a single word: 'CROATOAN' – the name of a nearby island. White never made it to Croatoan to check, but others subsequently have, and yet no trace of the missing colonists has ever been uncovered.