Flash back to the crime story of the century that had us all gripped through the pandemic, and turn everything you know upside down. Carole Baskin claims that her former husband – who was declared legally dead in 2002 after going missing five years earlier – has been found alive and well. But, perhaps what's even more shocking than Don Lewis' resurrection, is the fact that we all missed this revelation
It turns out that Baskin made the claim about her husband during a TV appearance in 2021. And, I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say: how the fuck did that go under the radar?
"How did I miss that Carole Baskin's husband, that went missing and claimed to be fed to the tigers, was actually found alive in Costa Rica last year?" one person tweeted this week after discovering the shocking news. "What?! Surely this should’ve been front page news," someone said in response, echoing our thoughts exactly.
"I'm sorry, WHAT!?" another confused Tiger King fan chimed in, as a fourth tweeted: "And we all thought she murdered him."
What happened to Carole Baskin's ex-husband Don Lewis?
To recap, Baskin – and, by default, Lewis – shot to fame back in 2020 when she starred on Netflix's Tiger King, a docu-series that followed the strange adventures of big-cat keeper, Joseph Maldonado-Passage.
During the series, Maldonado-Passage repeatedly accused Baskin of being connected to her former husband's death, after he mysteriously went missing in 1997, just six years after they were married. Baskin denied the allegations made against her, which notably included that she had fed Lewis' body to her own hoard of big cats.
But speaking on ITV's This Morning in 2021, Baskin said that Homeland Security had been in touch to confirm they'd uncovered Lewis' whereabouts. "They said my husband, Don Lewis, is alive and well in Costa Rica. And yet all of this drama has been made about me having something to do with his disappearance, when Homeland Security has known where he is," she said.
Baskin went on to share her surprise at the news, adding: "I didn’t think he was capable of supporting himself. He took about a million dollars down to Costa Rica, I had agreed to let him do that so he could prove to himself that he could make a living." As for what happened to the money in question, Baskin said she attempted to recover it, only to find there was just $80,000 left "because the investments he had made were so bad."
Where is Carole Baskin's ex-husband Don Lewis now?
Although Baskin asserts that the US government is aware Lewis is alive and living in Costa Rica, he's still legally documented as being dead.
And since this not-so-new claim has circulated, Baskin said in a statement to PEOPLE magazine: "I've mentioned it in the more than 60 interviews I've done since then, where reporters asked about Don, so I'm surprised everyone in the press is acting like they aren't aware of it. I was not aware of the Homeland Security document saying Don was alive and well in Costa Rica until TK2 aired In Nov 2021."
There also remains an open missing person's case for Lewis, where is is documented as a “missing endangered adult”. The report says that on August 18 1997, Lewis “left his [family's] residence and has not been seen or heard from since.”
What do officials say?
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office told TMZ that the office still understands Lewis to be missing.
Fentress Fountain, a public information office for the Sheriff's Department, told the New York Post: "We have not received any communication from our federal partners that confirms the location of missing person Mr. Don Lewis. The investigation into Don Lewis' disappearance remains a priority for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, as do all missing person cases."
Back in 2021 around the time of Baskin's revelations, a representative of the Sheriff's Office told the Tampa Bay Times that Homeland Security had “assisted” them by “running down leads in Costa Rica”, and did not confirm the claim that Lewis was “alive and well”.
What does Lewis's family say?
Lewis's daughters told TMZ of their distress and confusion at the report recirculating. "While we would certainly welcome the good news of our Dad being found alive, it's just simply not true," they told TMZ. The family said they had been inundated with calls and messages since this claim resurfaced.
The Lewis family shared that when Lewis first went missing, the Sheriff's Office told them a U.S. Customs report with details that Lewis had been seen in Costa Rica existed. But when his eldest daughter Donna and her husband traveled to Costa Rica in November 1997, they came back with no information.
BRB, we need to go and lie down in a v dark, v quiet room...
This article was updated with response from Don Lewis's family and new comments from officials refuting Baskin's 2021 claims.
Jade Biggs (she/her) is Cosmopolitan UK's Features Writer, covering everything from breaking news and latest royal gossip, to the health and fitness trends taking over your TikTok feed. She also works on first-person features and investigative long-reads, taking a deep-dive into mental health, celebrity culture and women's rights. Jade has been a journalist and content writer for ten years, and has interviewed leading researchers and doctors, high-profile influencers and fitness experts. She is a cat mum to four fur babies and is obsessed with Drag Race, bottomless brunches and wearing clothes only suitable for Bratz dolls. Follow her on Instagram or Twitter.
