The fate of the approximately 112–121 colonists remains unknown. Speculation that they had assimilated with nearby Native American communities appears in writings as early as 1605. Investigations by the Jamestown colonists produced reports that the Roanoke settlers had been massacred, as well as stories of people with European features in Native American villages, but no hard evidence was produced. Interest in the matter fell into decline until 1834, when George Bancroft published his account of the events in "A History of the United States". Bancroft's description of the colonists, particularly White's infant granddaughter Virginia Dare, cast them as foundational figures in American culture and captured the public imagination. Despite this renewed interest, modern research still has not produced the archaeological evidence necessary to solve the mystery.