One of the theories regarding what happened to the Roanoke settlers is that the settlers may have joined the Croatoan tribe native to the area. Some pieces of evidence support this theory, including their close friendship with Manteo, a skilled Croatoan skilled in hunting and fishing, and the discovery of the word Croatoan carved on a fencepost. Although it's uncertain what precisely transpired, merging the settlers and the Craatoan tribe remains one of the most plausible theories.