John White returned from a supply-trip to England on his granddaughter's third birthday but found his settlement deserted. He organized a search but his men could not find any trace of the colonists. Some 90 men, 17 women, and 9 children had disappeared; there was no sign of a struggle or battle of any kind, and the people seemed to have left suddenly in the middle of other tasks. The only clue was the word "Croatoan" carved on to a tree. White took this to mean that they had moved to Croatoan Island, but no evidence of them was found there either. What became of them is still a mystery; and Roanoke is often referred to as the "Lost Colony."