I do think flooding as a result of hurricane is very likely and fits the profile.
Hurricanes affected Sir Walter Raleigh’s decision to leave with the first colonists and White’s attempts to search for the missing colonists.
A hurricane that struck Florida in 1877 was no longer a hurricane by the time it got to N.C., but it caused severe flooding in Albemarle Sound, exactly the area we’re talking about.
Based on direct hits between 1900 and 1996 my best try is to say that the chance of a major hurricane (Category 3, 4, or 5) hitting N.C. in a three year period would be very close to 33% and the chance for any hurricane hitting N.C. in a three year period would be about 73%
Of course, using the wiki descriptions of hurricanes, some of those would not cause much damage and non-hurricane can cause disaster. Also, those estimates are for the entire state and some claim that hurricane frequency is increasing.
I do think a flood is a likely scenario. The colonists would be forced to leave but after the storm passed and the waters receded they would likey return to salvage what they could and they might have cleaned up, possibly hoping to return to the site later.
They may not have carved the Maltese cross or any other message because they didn’t go far. Croatoan might not have been a message for White at all.
There is something called the Lost Colony DNA project that looks for Indo-European ancestry, but I have not been able to find any positive results online.
From your link:
This sounds fantastic to me. Even those who came from Elizabethan England would not speak “perfect” Elizabethan English over one hundred years later if they had been living in isolation. Learning a language from a book does not lead to speech patterns that conform perfectly to the speech of people using the language for everyday needs.
Of course the black ancestry could have come in at any time as many slaves who ran away from plantations sought refuge with the Indians well into the 19th century (the only successful slave revolt in U.S. history was the Black Seminoles). However, ancestral ties to that 16th century revolt are not inconceivable.
If you’ve ever seen the movie PORKY’S 2, the Natives vs. the KKK sideplot was- I am guessing- inspired by the Battle of Hayes Pond in 1958- one of the KKK’s few armed engagements. Let’s just say that no Klansman has yet to receive the medal of valor for that one, though some did qualify for Olympic sprint team. This is one of my favorite pics(though you’ll have to read the wiki to find out why it’s funny). The event is actually re-enacted each year using the original abandoned KKK regalia.
