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

John White returned to Roanoke Island in 1590 after a three-year absence. He found the settlement abandoned, with no signs of struggle or haste. Mysterious carvings, "CRO" and "CROATOAN," offered the only clues to the colonists' whereabouts. The fate of these early English settlers remains an enduring historical enigma.