One of the world’s most popular Bigfoot hunters Claudia Ackley has died at the age of 51. According to her partner Ed Brown, her body was discovered in her Tennessee home last weekend. Authorities suspect that she died of a heart attack.
She is survived by her two daughters.
What Made Claudia Ackley Such a Prominent Figure in the Cryptid Community?
Prominent Bigfoot hunter Claudia Ackley, who sued California to prove Sasquatch is real, found dead https://t.co/w09WXs83EN pic.twitter.com/xo5qgOqZdk
— New York Post (@nypost) July 7, 2023
Claudia Ackley claimed to have seen Bigfoot multiple times throughout her life. She is best known for her 2018 lawsuit against the state of California in order to have it formally recognize the sasquatch as a species. This came in response to national park rangers telling her that one of her sightings had actually been of a bear.
The sighting in question took place in March of 2018. Claudia had been hiking with her daughters near Lake Arrowhead, California. During their hike, they recorded video of what they claimed was a sasquatch watching them from behind a tree.
“I swear to God, on my life, we ran into a sasquatch,” Claudia claimed.
She contacted the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, who sent an investigator to examine the video. The investigator insisted that the recorded creature was only a bear.
“They’re supposed to be there to protect the public,” Claudia said of the department’s response. “They’re not doing their jobs.”
Needless to say, she did not win her lawsuit.
“Her lawsuit’s goal was to force the state of California and the fish and wildlife authority to take sightings seriously and investigate them properly, rather than just say, ‘It was a bear,’” Ed Brown said. “The goal was to get them to do real investigation and research.
How Did Allegedly Seeing Bigfoot Change Claudia Ackley?
Claudia Ackley, the prominent Bigfoot hunter who claimed to have encountered the cryptid, passed away at the age of 51.https://t.co/56oFGBt884
— WION (@WIONews) July 6, 2023
Claudia claimed that her first encounter with a sasquatch was a motivational experience for her. In 2014, while on a hike in Washington, she supposedly came face to face with a small sasquatch.
“I realized at that point, looking at the creature, that there’s so much of life that we don’t know. Life is so beautiful, and I’m wasting my years. I lost 125 pounds and decided to get a divorce, “ she said. “It motivated me to chase my dreams and live my life.”
Since that first encounter, she devoted her life to proving to the general public the existence of the sasquatch, hoping to dispel its cryptid status.
“The community—regardless of anyone’s views—has lost someone who was willing to stand up and fight for their beliefs,” said Brown. “The Bigfoot community lost a soldier.”
