Woman Sues California For Failing To Recognize Bigfoot As Species, Dismissing Her Sightings

Bigfoot has long been a favorite topic when it comes to American folklore. There have been various stories from people who claimed to have spotted the hairy, muscular creature, but none of these reported Bigfoot or Sasquatch sightings have been proven to be true. Crestline, California resident Claudia Ackley was one of the people who recently experienced a Bigfoot sighting. After sharing her story with the authorities who didn’t believe her, the Bigfoot enthusiast decided to sue the state of California.

On March 27 last year, while hiking along a trail in Lake Arrowhead between 6:30 and 7 p.m, Ackley and her two daughters spotted a shadowy figure, VC Star reported. She had described the mysterious creature to be barrel-chested, had a head three times larger than an average human head, and it looked like it weighed 800 pounds. Ackley went on further to describe what they saw as someone who looked like a prehistoric man.

“He looked like a Neanderthal man with hair all over him. He had solid black eyes. He had no expression on his face at all. He did not show his teeth. He just stared at the three of us.”

Ackley reported her sightings to the forest rangers, who then dismissed her claims and insisted that they may have encountered a bear. When she realized nobody will ever believe her, the 46-year-old mother decided to contact Todd Standing, the filmmaker behind Netflix’s Discovering Bigfoot and teamed up with him to sue the state on Jan. 18.

Ackley’s youngest daughter, 11, managed to capture footage of their sighting and once she reviewed it, she was certain that she had just seen Bigfoot. Standing, who was doubtful at first, visited the area of the reported sighting. After reviewing the footage, he was convinced and decided to help Ackley with her mission.

In the lawsuit, Ackley alleges that the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, as well as state Natural Resources Agency, didn’t do their jobs of protecting Sasquatch territory and failing to recognize the creature as a species. Also, the state is said to have put the lives of residents at risk by not doing official research on the creature.

Moreover, Ackley stated that by not believing the claims despite the purported scientific evidence, the state has damaged not only her public image but also those of the researchers who devote their time to studying Sasquatch. Ackley herself has been a Bigfoot researcher for more than 20 years.

Gizmodo shared the court documents that showed Ackley’s argument and her stand on the existence of Sasquatch. Part of the petition mentioned that Ackley has brought evidence that should prove Bigfoot — “one of the greatest discoveries of our time”– is real.

“For over a hundred years, thousands of men and women across the State of California claim to have witnessed a bipedal hominoid creature that received its common name Bigfoot 60 years ago. [We] bring to this court overwhelming evidence that proves what will be considered one of the greatest discoveries of our time.”

Ackley’s hearing in San Bernardino will be on March 19. In the meantime, Ackley made an effort to communicate with Bigfoot by leaving behind snacks and a voice-activated book at the site where she claimed to have spotted the creature, as reported by San Bernardino Sun.