Mysterious woman in black pictured roaming roadsides

A mysterious woman spotted walking on roadsides in America's south, dressed in flowing black clothing and often refusing to speak, has sparked an urban legend.

The woman's walking journey has attracted much social media attention, with a Facebook page called Where is the Mysterious Woman in Black? that has 53,000 likes at last count.

Witnesses who took her photo said she refused to talk to them when they offered food or water or money.

However, a video popped online last month showing her arguing with a man in a parking lot in Virginia about masons, prophets, Jesus and the devil.

Media reports recently identified the woman as Elizabeth Poles, a 56-year-old widow from Alabama who reportedly began disappearing during treatment at a Veterans Affairs hospital.

Her brother told local news outlets she was in the military for about 10 years before she started getting treatment in North Carolina — and then she suddenly vanished.

According to America's ABC News, Ms Poles has now reached her final destination in Virginia, after roaming the countryside for at least three weeks.