century mystery of Roanoke Island to explain  their current situation. In 1590 at the colony of Roanoke, Virginia,  over 100 people disappeared without a trace. The only clue found was  a series of unexplained letters "croatoan" carved on a tree and  discovered by investigating Governor John White when he returned to  the colony from England and found the colonists gone. White took the  letters to mean that the settlers had moved to Croatoan Island some  50 miles away, but no trace of them was ever found there or anywhere  else.