by Shelly Barclay

Created on: August 21, 2010

Two of the most persistent mysteries in history are the mystery of the lost colony of Roanoke and the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. Since the disappearance of the colony on Roanoke Island, countless theories have arisen regarding the nature of the colonists' disappearance. As for the Bermuda Triangle, there is no telling exactly when people started thinking something was not quite right about that stretch of water. However, we do know that countless theories have been proposed to explain that as well. These theories range from obviously far from the mark to being a viable explanation that simply cannot be proven.

The following two theories regarding the Bermuda Triangle and the lost colony of Roanoke are the two that this writer feels are the most likely. These are already well-established theories with a touch of her opinion.

The Lost Colony of Roanoke, Virginia

On July 22, 1587, a group of 117 colonists was sent to establish a colony at Roanoke. The leader of these colonists, John White, was sent to England to bring back more food and supplies shortly thereafter. There had been some issues with the local Native Americans and the colonists were not outfitted to survive in hostile territory. By the time John returned, three years later, there was no colony left to aid. Every person was gone. There was no sign of struggle. There was but one clue and it has proven impossible to decipher. The clue was the word "Croatoan" carved on a post. "Cro" was carved on a nearby tree.

No trace of the Roanoke Colony has been found, as far as we know. There have been claims of blue-eyed Native-Americans and the like since their disappearance, but nothing has been proven. Theories have included cannibalism (no evidence), slaughter by the natives (no evidence), natural disaster (no evidence), escape to another area (possible) and integration with the local tribes (possible), among other things. It seems that the most likely scenario is that the colonists could not make it independently and took to living amongst the natives.

If the colonists had resorted to cannibalism, there would have been human remains on the site and the only human remains were accounted for. If there had been a struggle with the Native Americans, there would likely have been some sign of it; there was none. A natural disaster would have left even more evidence. Now, an escape to another area is a good possibility and it may be coupled with integration into a Native American tribe. Nearby, there was an island

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