Charles Stuart, aka 'Snake the Bigfoot Hunter,' says he found an 8ft, 300lb corpse in the Adirondacks and posted a 21-page DNA report that he says names Cornell University. Cornell denies conducting any tests or producing the documents and says it did not receive the specimen. Stuart is threatening a $10m lawsuit and alleges defamation unless Cornell admits it received and processed the samples. The findings remain unverified and the named Cornell contact could not be confirmed.
Bigfoot Hunter Threatens $10M Lawsuit After Cornell Denies DNA Tests on 'Dack'
Charles Stuart goes by the name 'Snake the Bigfoot Hunter' - Facebook
Charles Stuart, who publicly calls himself 'Snake the Bigfoot Hunter,' is threatening legal action against Cornell University after the Ivy League institution denied conducting DNA tests on material he says came from a purported Bigfoot corpse found in New York's Adirondack Mountains.
Mr Stuart claims DNA testing by a Cornell lab reveals the creature to be part-Neanderthal, part-human - Facebook
Claims, Documents and a Public Dispute
Stuart says he discovered an 8ft, 300lb body in 2024 that he nicknamed 'Dack.' He posted a 21-page report to his website, which includes a detailed DNA analysis and the Cornell University logo; the report is dated March 23, 2025. Stuart has asserted that the analysis shows the specimen is part-Neanderthal and part-human.
Mr Stuart claims to have been defamed by Cornell University - Facebook
But a Cornell spokesman told the New York Post that university researchers "did not conduct any testing for [Mr Stuart] or present a report" and that the documents Stuart posted "were not from the college." Cornell has denied receiving or processing the specimen.
Mr Stuart claimed his specimen was probably 'bludgeoned to death' by a bigger Bigfoot - Facebook
Threatened Lawsuit and Defamation Claim
In a letter seen by The Telegraph, Stuart described Cornell's denial as "knowingly false" and demanded a formal admission that the specimen "was indeed received, logged, and processed by Cornell personnel." He says he will sue the university for $10 million unless such an admission is issued, and he alleges the university's statements have defamed him and damaged his reputation.
Charles Stuart's Bigfoot exhibit at the Great New York State Fair in 2025 - Facebook
Stuart wrote: By saying Cornell never tested the specimen, they have publicly tarnished my impeccable reputation and abandoned scientific integrity.
Verification Problems and Controversy
The report Stuart posted names a clinical supervisor identified as Misty Pritchard at Cornell's veterinary biobank, and Stuart has said he sent hair, blood and fecal samples to a "friend" at a Cornell facility he called the Bio DNA lab. Independent checks found no clear online affiliation between the named person and Cornell, and reporters were unable to verify the claimed connection.
Photos Stuart published showed a decomposing, hairy, human-like figure lying in brush; some members of the Bigfoot community and at least one fellow researcher have dismissed the material as likely fake. Stuart told NewsNation he believed the body had been killed days earlier and speculated it may have been the victim of an attack by another Bigfoot.
Next Steps
Cornell was contacted for comment and stood by its denial. Stuart declined further comment beyond the letter he sent to the university, saying it "speaks for itself." He plans to display the body again at the New York State Fair, which runs from Aug 26 to Sept 7.
Note: The extraordinary biological claims have not been independently verified by mainstream scientific institutions, and significant questions remain about the provenance of the samples and the authenticity of the report bearing Cornell's logo.
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