Echoes of the Lost: Roanoke Colony & the Yuba Five

In this episode we explore two of America’s most haunting vanishings separated by centuries but tied by the same unsettling question: what really happened?First, we journey to the late 16th century and the vanishing of the Lost Colony of Roanoke—117 English settlers who disappeared from Roanoke Island, leaving only the cryptic word “CROATOAN” as a clue. What theories persist to this day, and what new discoveries might be rewriting the story?Then, we leap forward to February 1978 in Northern California, where five men from Yuba County set out on a routine drive home and vanished into the wilderness. Over time their car, bodies, and one permanently missing man turned into one of the most bizarre and confounding true crime mysteries in U.S. history.Join us as we compare these two enigmas of disappearance: their facts, the theories, the lingering questions, and what draws us to stories where people simply vanish from our grasp.Champagne Pairing for this episode is: Ruinart Blanc de Blancshttps://kegnbottle.com/products/ruinart-blanc-de-blancs-champagne?variant=39656500035713&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping%3Eover-index&utm_id=22918917036&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22918917036&gbraid=0AAAAADMKQrou4bG6tsQthRCQSm5uQ3ajS&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0Y3HBhCxARIsAN7931WDaZac82cd6Xrd4ZgGcfhhD-7uCxyfNzHeha0c3IPh40gwJUUZg8IaAnDxEALw_wcBBritannica — The Lost Colony of Roanoke https://www.britannica.com/story/the-lost-colony-of-roanokeNational Park Service — Fort Raleigh National Historic Site: https://www.nps.gov/fora/NPS — Major Theories of the Lost Colony: https://www.nps.gov/fora/learn/historyculture/major-theories-of-the-lost-colony.htmHistory.com — Archaeologists Find New Clues to “Lost Colony” Mystery: https://www.history.com/articles/archaeologists-find-new-clues-to-lost-colony-mysteryFirst Colony Foundation — Hidden Images Revealed on Elizabethan Map of America: https://www.firstcolonyfoundation.org/news/hidden-images-revealed-elizabethan-map-america/Encyclopedia Virginia — John White returns to Roanoke: https://encyclopediavirginia.org/primary-documents/john-white-returns-to-roanoke-an-excerpt-from-the-fift-voyage-of-master-john-white-into-the-west-indies-and-parts-of-america-called-virginia-in-the-yeere-1590-1600/Popular Archaeology — Lost and Found: The Evidence for the Lost Colony: https://popular-archaeology.com/article/lost-and-found-the-evidence-for-the-lost-colony/Colonial Williamsburg — What Happened To The Lost Colony?: https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/discover/resource-hub/trend-tradition-magazine/trend-tradition-spring-2025/lost-colony/Andrew Lawler — analysis piece: