The Colony Of Roanoke Eerily Vanished In 1590 – Now One Expert Says He’s Solved The Great Mystery

America’s Roanoke colony vanished without a trace. It was started in the early days of the New World, when a band of settlers arrived on an island off the coast of North America. They built homes, began farming, and ultimately created a small community. Within three years, though, they had disappeared, never to be seen again. So where did they go? Well, compelling new evidence could now finally solve the puzzle.

The Governor returned to find no one

Even today, the fate of the missing inhabitants remains one of American history’s most enduring puzzles. And you should know that the colony was barely off its feet when governor John White left Roanoke on a mission to source much-needed supplies. By the time he returned, however, the rest of the settlers – including members of his own family – were nowhere to be seen. What happened?

What happened to the colonists?

Did the settlers perish in a violent battle with the forces struggling for control of the New World? Or did they starve as they waited in vain for Smith to return? Perhaps, alternatively, they survived, abandoning Roanoke for pastures new? Whatever the truth, it has remained elusive. And over the centuries, the case has grown colder and colder... until now.

Researchers find new evidence

Yes, in October 2020 a new chapter in this fascinating story began to unfold. According to the First Colony Foundation, a research group based in North Carolina, evidence has emerged that sheds new light on the settlers’ ultimate fate. So, has the mystery of Roanoke been solved once and for all?

They tried to succeed where others failed

The story of the lost colony began in May 1587, when a group of English settlers set sail for Roanoke Island. A small spit of land off the coast of what is now North Carolina, it had already been the setting for one community, established two years previously. But, perhaps tellingly, that earlier venture had failed, and most of the inhabitants had evacuated back to their homeland.

The settlers

Undeterred, the second group of settlers arrived on Roanoke Island in July 1587. As previously mentioned, they were led by a man called White. He had been a member of the first, aborted colony. And according to the records, there were 115 men, women, and infants among their ranks, including the governor’s daughter, who was expecting a baby of her own. Before long, she would have the first English child born in North America.

Forced to leave

But just ten days after this momentous occasion, White was forced to leave the fledgling colony behind. Supplies were dwindling, it seems, and he needed to return to England to drum up additional resources. So, towards the end of August, the governor left his family on Roanoke Island and embarked on the long journey across the Atlantic.

Side-tracked for two years

Unfortunately, White’s trip took far longer than he had anticipated. Back in England, he found his mission sidelined by the threat of the Spanish Armada, which was intent on invading the British Isles. Eventually, after two years, Sir Francis Drake’s forces vanquished the enemy, and the governor of Roanoke could finally return.

What he found upon returning

By the time White arrived back on the island, though, some three years had passed. And instead of a thriving settlement, he found a colony that was abandoned and overgrown. But where had the people, who included the governor’s own granddaughter, gone? It’s a mystery that continues to haunt America to this day.

One significant clue

On closer inspection, though, it seemed as if the people of Roanoke hadn’t quite disappeared without a trace. Almost as famous as the eerily deserted colony is the message that the vanished inhabitants apparently left behind. Carved into a tree, White found the word “CROATOAN” spelled out in capital letters. And nearby, another trunk bore a similar legend: “CRO.”

Storm forces them out

But before White and his men could investigate any further, a dreadful storm hit the abandoned settlement. And with their ships damaged, they had little choice but to turn around and head back to England. There, the governor of Roanoke lived out the remainder of his days, unable to raise enough money to return to the New World and seek out his missing kin.

The most common theory

So what happened? Over the years, a number of different theories have emerged to account for what White found when he returned to the colony. One of the most popular, though, is the idea that the settlers abandoned Roanoke and relocated to Croatoan Island some 50 miles to the southeast.

Carved message

Of course, this idea is seemingly supported by the carved messages the colonists left behind. But why would they have chosen to leave Roanoke in favor of Croatoan, which is known as Hatteras Island today? According to some experts, the settlers may have found themselves struggling to survive without resources in a foreign land.

Joining forces with the Croatoan

So the theory goes, the inhabitants of Roanoke chose to join forces with the Hatteras people living on Croatoan. Certainly, the natives’ knowledge of the region would have helped the colonists to survive as their supplies dwindled to nothing. In fact, some believe that White’s descendants, along with the rest of the settlers, simply blended themselves into the indigenous tribe.

Backed by personal accounts

Interestingly, this theory was lent further credence in the early 18th century, when the English explorer John Lawson arrived in North Carolina and visited the Hatteras people. When he spoke to them, he was apparently startled to discover that some of their number claimed to be of partly Caucasian heritage. A few of the people he encountered had gray eyes, which would certainly appear to suggest some kind of European genetic influence.

Securing their future

Were these people the descendants of the original Roanoke colonists? Lawson seems to have believed so. In his 1709 book A New Voyage to Carolina, he theorized that the colonists had abandoned all hope of White’s return. Instead, he concluded, they had chosen to secure their future in North America by intermarrying with the Hatteras people.

A different theory

But this is far from the only theory that has been put forward to explain what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke. According to legend, later colonists in the region embarked on a mission to find out the fate of their predecessors. And, eventually, they met a chief of the Powhatan people.

A grim end

But the story the chief told was grim. Apparently, he had slaughtered the colonists – possibly in an attempt to avert predictions from native holy men about threats to his people from foreign marauders. But while the tale is certainly a dramatic one, there is little in the way of hard evidence to support this version of events.

Or was it a rival empire?

So were the Roanoke colonists wiped out by hostile natives? Did they merge peacefully with the Hatteras people? Or, perhaps, did something else occur altogether? In the 1930s, the playwright Paul Green was researching a piece about the mystery when he realized that the Spanish had recorded the settlement in great detail. Could the rival empire, then, have launched an attack on the unprepared settlers?

They had access to ships

Yet another theory suggests that the colonists tired of waiting for supplies and resolved to attempt the return trip to England unassisted. Certainly, they owned a ship and had possibly sailors capable of making the voyage. But if they did embark on such a mission, they were lost without a trace.

Researchers make a discovery

Despite all this speculation, though, there has never been a definitive answer as to what happened to the people of Roanoke. But then in 2012 researchers discovered something interesting about an artifact in the British Museum. Known as the La Virginea Pars map, it was painted by White himself back in 1585.

Mysterious patches on the map

Showing some of the early colonies along the eastern coast of North America, the map includes the fledgling settlement on Roanoke Island. But when a team from the First Colony Foundation took a closer look, they discovered something unexpected. There, on the surface of the ancient paper, were two mysterious patches.

Shone under a light

Intrigued, the researchers shone a light through the map, and that was when they spotted it: a secret symbol hidden beneath one of the patches. In the shape of a star with four points, it is thought to represent the location of a fort some 50 miles northwest of Roanoke. Could this previously unknown location be where the colonists ended up?

They launched an excavation

After all, the spot, dubbed Site X, was near to an indigenous settlement, and the Europeans are known to have established their towns in similarly positioned locations. But to really get to the bottom of the matter, the First Colony Foundation needed to conduct a proper excavation. And so a team headed by archaeologist Nick Luccketti arrived in North Carolina’s Bertie County in 2015.

Fragments spoke volumes

Before long, the team stumbled upon something promising. Although they could find no evidence of any kind of fortification, they did uncover more than 20 fragments of pottery that appeared to be English in origin. And the shards were similar in appearance to those unearthed at Roanoke Island itself.

Pre-dating Jamestown

Of course, the area surrounding Site X was eventually populated by English colonists moving south from Jamestown in Virginia. But this didn’t occur until the latter half of the 17th century, and the pieces of pottery are thought to pre-date this migration. This seems to suggest, then, that the artifacts were left behind by Europeans who traveled to North Carolina before the first known settlers. Could they have been brought there from Roanoke?

Ground-penetrating radar

Using ground-penetrating radar, Luccketti and his team tracked down another potential site of interest just two miles away. And in December 2019 they returned to conduct additional excavations. There, just as in the previous location, they unearthed pieces of European pottery believed to date from the time of the Roanoke colony.

Trace back to England

According to reports, the fragments at what became dubbed “Site Y” are thought to have come from a number of different locations. Among them, experts believe, are pieces of ceramic from north Devon, Essex, and London in England as well as stoneware from France and Germany. So how did they end up here?

Pinpointing their purpose

According to the team, the pottery pieces came from jars that were used to keep and prepare food, indicating that they had once belonged to an established community. And while it is possible that they were left behind by later settlers, Luccketti and his team do not believe that is their likely origin.

The tell-tale sign

One of the most convincing tell-tale signs that the pottery dates to the Roanoke era? It’s all to do with pipes – or, rather, the lack of them. Apparently, the settlers and traders from Jamestown would have habitually smoked from distinctive clay vessels. But according to the excavators, none of these were found at either of the Bertie County sites.

Experts are confident

“We are very confident that these excavations are linked to the Roanoke colonies,” a representative of the First Colony Foundation told Artnet in November 2020. “We have considered all the reasonable possibilities and can find nothing else that fits the evidence.” But not everyone, it seems, is in agreement.

But not everyone is convinced

“I am skeptical,” archaeologist Charles Ewen, from East Carolina University, told National Geographic. “[The First Colony Foundation] are looking to prove rather than seeking to disprove their theory, which is the scientific way.” So if these pottery shards are not evidence of the colonists migrating to Bertie County, then what are they?

Potentially belonged to other groups

In a 2015 interview with National Geographic, archaeologist Brett Riggs pointed out that the artifacts did not necessarily mean Europeans had settled in Bertie County. In fact, the pottery could simply have been discarded, then later foraged by members of the indigenous community – only to turn up and baffle experts centuries on.

The flaw in the theory

“Anything of utility they took back to their homes,” Riggs explained. “They would vacuum it all up.” And Ivor Hume – an archaeologist who once excavated Roanoke Island – added that it was problematic to attach such a precise timeline to the finds. He said, “I couldn’t date artifacts between 1590 and 1630. Did someone keep something for six weeks or six years? It is very hard to know.”

An unlikely location

That’s not all. According to Scott Dawson, who co-founded the Croatoan Archaeological Society, Bertie County would have been an unlikely destination for the lost colonists. Speaking to Artnet, he explained, “[It] was the heart of enemy territory. It is the last place they would go. They literally wrote down [that] they relocated to Croatoan.”

Archaeologists unearth a golden ring

Dawson is not the only person who prefers the Croatoan theory. In 1998 archaeologists on Hatteras Island unearthed a golden ring inscribed with heraldic symbols. That was believed to be from 16th-century England. Could it have been brought as a treasured heirloom all the way from Roanoke?

They've found other artifacts

It certainly seems possible. Since 2009, Dawson and his partner have been sponsoring excavations at a site on Hatteras Island known as Cape Creek. And over the years, they have recovered several European artifacts. Among these are part of a sword known as a rapier, an ingot of copper, and stoneware from Germany – all discovered in a soil layer from the late 1500s.

Brought or bartered?

Of course, it’s possible that these objects could simply have been bartered by the colonists rather than brought with them to Hatteras Island. But excavators have also discovered personal items, such as a piece of slate marked with the letter “M.” Speaking to National Geographic, archaeologist Mark Horton speculated, “This was owned by somebody who could read and write. This wasn’t useful for trade but was owned by an educated European.”

The theories still on the table

So did the lost colonists of Roanoke end up on Hatteras Island, in Bertie County, or somewhere else altogether? According to Ewen, the jury is still out. He said, “We still don’t know what happened, and we are waiting to be persuaded. I don’t think anything is off the table.”

What the evidence points to

For some, though, the artifacts discovered by Dawson’s foundation provide substantial evidence that the colonists headed inland. Speaking to Artnet, William M. Kelso of the preservation group Jamestown Rediscovery said, “What has been found so far at Site Y in Bertie County appears to me to solve one of the greatest mysteries in early American history: the odyssey of the ‘Lost’ Colony.”

Wrapping up mysteries

Can we now close the chapter on Roanoke? Kelso believes so. And we can clear up another mystery, too. When an American bomber came crashing down into Sandwich Bay back in 1943, its haunting remains lay undisturbed for years. When a coastal warden looked closer at the wreck, though, he made a heartbreaking discovery.

This ill-fated B-17 was apparently on its first-ever mission when tragedy struck. Its fuel tanks punctured by anti-aircraft fire, the plane plummeted down into the water below. And the wreck of the bomber still sits in the English Channel, its secrets kept for generations – until now.

But around the turn of the 21st century, a bank of sand swept in and covered the remains of the B-17. Slowly, the wreck began to decay. And as pieces of the abandoned airplane started to drift towards the shore, a group of amateur enthusiasts banded together. They wanted to protect this piece of history from disappearing completely.

Then the story of this B-17 took an unexpected turn. And when coastal warden Tony Ovenden visited the site in May 2021, he spotted unusual activity out in the bay. Now, almost 80 years after the historic bomber crashed, its secrets are being uncovered – and not everybody is happy about it.

Surely some folks are ecstatic about the discovery, though? Particularly WWII historians. You see, the B-17 played a significant role in that conflict. Even today, the plane is seen as a symbol of the military might that helped the Allies to victory.

And although the B-17 was initially plagued by problems, it impressed observers from the start. One journalist even called it a “Flying Fortress,” and the name stuck. Unlike previous Boeing models, these bombers had flight decks and were equipped with powerful machine guns. They were fast, too. In 1938 one plane set a new transcontinental record of just under 13 and a half hours. Not so impressive today, but back then that was a remarkable feat.

Where B-17s came into their own, though, was in battle. Before the U.S. even entered WWII, the bombers were shipped to the British Royal Air Force and drafted into combat. Then, in December 1941, the Americans entered the fray – bringing their Flying Fortresses with them, of course.

Throughout the war, the Allies’ B-17s played a critical role in many battles, including ones in the Pacific and Western Europe. And in 1944 a fleet of the bombers conducted a raid on German factories, crippling the mighty Luftwaffe for good. Some even believe that the planes were instrumental in the Allies’ victory the following year. 

But what was this particular B-17 doing over England in 1943? At that time, the tide of World War II had turned in favor of the Allies. The Axis powers fought on, though, and Germany prepared to launch a series of devastating offensives across Europe.

In the face of staunch opposition, Adolf Hitler had shelved his plans for world domination and shifted to safeguarding German-occupied territories. The onslaught continued, however, as the Allies fought to reclaim Europe. And amid this chaos, one Boeing bomber – known by the not terribly catchy B-17G 42-31243 – entered the fray.

The mission on December 1, 1943, was the first time that this B-17 had flown on a military assignment. With a crew of ten men, the bomber headed for Solingen, a city in western Germany. Located on the outskirts of an industrial complex, it was prime territory for an Allied attack.

The British government had approved the use of extensive aerial bombing to destroy the morale of the German people. With that decision, Solingen’s fate was sealed. In fact, the city eventually sustained so much damage that little of its old town is left today. That B-17 off the coast of Kent, though? It didn’t actually play a role in the destruction.

Before take-off, the crew of this B-17 would have been prepared to fly into the eye of the storm. At the controls was Alan Eckhart, who was on the 25th mission of his combat tour. A member of the U.S. Air Force’s 303rd Bomb Group, he had started the war in Oregon – but he now found himself flying many miles from home. 

Alongside Eckhart in the B-17 were his co-pilot Elton Jenkins, gunners Michael Musashe and Edward Madak, and George Arvanites, who was responsible for navigating the craft. Operating the radio was Fred Kuehl, while the man in charge of launching the bombs was Second Lieutenant Robert Meagher. In the turret, meanwhile, Angelo Tambe manned the guns. But that crack team of men weren’t enough to save the B-17 from disaster.

The rest of the crew, according to reports, was made up of Nyle Smith, a tail gunner, and Francis Nuener, a flight engineer. And together the ten men set off to join a raid on Solingen – but they never made it. Instead, their B-17 ran out of fuel somewhere over southeast England.

History enthusiast Tony Ovenden blamed flak damage for the fateful incident, according to a May 2021 interview with The Isle of Thanet News. But whatever the reason, records tell us that Eckhart’s B-17 was forced to ditch in Pegwell Bay, a small inlet on the coast of Kent.

That was the end of the war for the B-17. And less than two years after Eckhart and his crew crash-landed in the English Channel, the brutal conflict finally came to an end. Slowly, the scars of battle began to fade – but the bomber in Pegwell Bay remained where it’d crashed.

Over time, the landscape of an area known as the Sandwich Flats shifted, smothering the wreckage in a layer of sand. And by the time the remains were uncovered once more, the B-17 had severely corroded. But the site remains one of pilgrimage for amateur historians – especially ones with a passion for WWII aircraft.

Recently, though, this particular wreck has been giving up the secrets that it has kept for generations. As the fuselage continues to decay, the tide has been carrying parts of the plane back to shore, where folks like Ovenden collect them. And on one such excursion, Ovenden uncovered a heartbreaking truth about the historic remains. Could it really be?

So what happened to Eckhart and the rest of the B-17’s crew? Thankfully, unlike many of their fellow airmen, they did not meet with an unfortunate fate. Instead, they were plucked from the water and taken to the nearby RAF Manston by a British Air Sea Rescue team.

Then the ten men who set out for Solingen were assigned other missions and duties. All the while, their faithful bomber was left to rot in the English Channel. Now it appears to be little more than a few scraps of metal half-buried in sand. But Ovenden and his fellow enthusiasts know that all manner of treasures lie just beneath the surface. Even if someone’s done their best to spoil them...

Yes, someone took it upon themselves to strip the wreck of these treasures. Speaking to The Isle of Thanet News, Ovenden said, “A few days ago I saw someone out by the B-17… He was in the water pulling at something in the fuselage area. Nearby was a small four-wheel trolley. When he saw me, he walked off.”

On closer inspection, it seems, the man had been removing objects from the bomber and was about to take them away from the site. Ovenden added, “Looking in his trolley, I could see B-17 items and lumps of concretion he had been picking up from the debris field.” So, the concerned coastal warden reported the incident to the authorities.

Unfortunately, it’s not the first time that the wreck has been ravaged by scavengers. Back in 1999, according to The Isle of Thanet News, an official excavation was planned to study the remains of the bomber. But before it could take place, looters struck.

Although reports do not cover exactly what these looters took, it was the beginning of a decline for this historic wreck. And while the authorities were able to recover some of the stolen objects, others were seemingly lost for good. Before more opportunists could move in, however, the sands of Pegwell Bay swept in.

That meant the wreck was effectively given protection from looters – if not from the ravages of nature. But it soon reemerged from the sand. Speaking to The Isle of Thanet News, Ovenden said, “About five years ago, the sand uncovered the site revealing what was left of the structure. That being the wings, two remaining nacelles without the engine, and a debris field in the area where the fuselage once was. In fact, it resembled a demolition site.”

And that wasn’t all. Ovenden added, “The elements started to take their toll on the site, with items coming ashore and also appearing in the intertidal zone.” Concerned about the state of the wreck, the coastal warden acquired an official permit to collect any rogue artifacts that might wash up in Pegwell Bay.

But Ovenden had his work cut out for him. Keen to get some assistance with his self-appointed mission, the warden started the Sandwich Bay B-17 G Group on Facebook. And as of July 2021, it boasted almost 600 members – all dedicated to preserving the history of this historic plane.

“I started the Sandwich Bay B-17 group to get more people involved – both locally and internationally,” Ovenden told The Isle of Thanet News. “The networking proved to be a great help, especially with identification.” Yes, thanks to the assistance of members around the world, several artifacts have been cataloged and preserved.

What happened after those precious treasures were discovered? Well, Ovenden’s revealed all. “As I found items, I would start the conservation process by soaking them in a light solution of citric acid,” he said. “I would inform the Receiver of Wreck of my find who would issue paperwork for the reported items. Once I had the correct paperwork, I would then transfer them to the RAF Manston History Museum [to] complete the conservation process.”

But Ovenden recently began to notice that items were disappearing from the wreckage of the B-17. He said, “At first I thought this was due to the tide, but it was after two Covid lockdowns that I noticed something didn’t seem right, as visits to the site were not as regular.” What on Earth was going on?

“I noticed areas of solid structure were missing around the right wing,” Ovenden continued. “Two Tokyo tanks have gone along with pipes and wiring. There is evidence of tampering and disturbance of concreted items in the debris field. I was coming to the conclusion that someone had taken items off the site in a big way.” Had the looters returned to Pegwell Bay?

Ovenden believed that he caught someone red-handed while he was keeping an eye on the remains of the B-17. He initially believed that the suspicious man was a member of his group – until he spotted him tugging away at the fragile fuselage.

But the man left the scene when he realized that he was being watched, according to Ovenden. He’d left behind a trolley loaded with items from the B-17 – suggesting that the coastal warden’s suspicions were correct. And history enthusiasts are concerned that the wreck could face even further damage.

“There is now enough evidence to suggest the site is at risk – not so much from small souvenir hunters but collectors motivated by greed,” Ovenden explained. “The area may not look much, but there are still some very significant aviation archaeological items remaining, like a perfectly preserved tire and landing gear of the left wing.”

“Some more Tokyo tanks have been revealed due to the break up of the right wing,” Ovenden continued. “It is at risk from looting as it is probably one of the few remaining B-17 sites in western Europe where someone can just walk up to and basically help themselves to a piece.” So how can we protect this historic wreck from even further damage?

Well, according to Ovenden, the right approach is to raise awareness of the crash site rather than leaving it neglected and vulnerable to damage. He has also made the authorities aware of the worrying incident that he witnessed in Pegwell Bay.

An investigation into the looting is ongoing. And if caught, the perpetrator could be in real trouble. According to the Services Archaeology and Heritage Association, the crash site is classed as a protected place. That means it is illegal to enter the wreck or tamper with it in any way.

But there is some good news. You see, the police may be a step closer to catching the man responsible for looting the B-17. On June 20, 2021, they released a photograph of an individual wanted for questioning in connection with the case. 

And Ovenden may yet see justice done. In a June 2021 interview with the Daily Mail, he said, “It’s just so wrong, it’s stealing our heritage. For your typical B-17 collector, that site is an Aladdin’s cave… When I find things in the bay, I conserve our heritage. He [the suspect] is stealing it, taking it for personal gratification.”