RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Clues to what became of North Carolina's fabled Lost Colony could lie in a waterfront tract where thousands of condos were once going to be built. Now, one of the would-be developers is seeking millions of dollars to preserve the property.

Efforts to save the 1,000 acres in rural Bertie County are still in an early stage. Even the environmental group that developer Michael Flannelly hopes will help hasn't seen the property yet.

The Lost Colony historically is associated with Roanoke Island in Dare County, where a group of settlers disappeared between 1587 and 1590.

In 2012, researchers discovered the drawing of a fort under a patch on a map from that era. The fort was in what's now Bertie County.

Archaeologists have found colonial-era English pottery at the site.

[STORY BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]

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