Reports of encounters with pale-skinned, blond-haired people among various Native American tribes occur as early as 1607. Although this is frequently attributed to assimilated Lost Colonists, it may be more easily explained by dramatically higher rates of albinism in Native Americans than in people of European descent. In his book "The Lost Colony and Hatteras Island" published in June 2020, Scott Dawson proposed that the colonists merged with the Croatoan people. Dawson claims, "They were never lost. It was made up. The mystery is over."