Carole Baskin Claimed Her 'Dead' Ex-Husband Don Lewis Is Still Alive

In a recently discovered 2021 television interview, animal activist Carole Baskin claimed that her missing ex-husband Don Lewis, whose disappearance in 1997 is detailed in Netflix's series Tiger King, is still alive and well in Costa Rica. Furthermore, the idea that Lewis was still alive was first put forth in the Netflix follow-up Tiger King 2. Producers of the show display documents in the episodes that they claim to be from the Department of Homeland Security and that purport to indicate Lewis' whereabouts in Costa Rica. However, the validity of the documents shown in Tiger King 2 is unknown. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Image credit: Heaven of Horror[/caption] Additionally, on the British ITV program This Morning in 2021, Baskin, 61, who manages a big cat refuge in Florida, reaffirmed the theory that Lewis is still alive. She stated on This Morning that she thought Lewis had been in contact with Homeland Security: "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." Baskin stated in a statement to PEOPLE, in part, "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." On the other hand, Homeland Security has not responded yet to these claims. Also read: Alec Baldwin to face charges of involuntary manslaughter for the tragic shooting on the ‘Rust’ film set

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In 2021, Carole Baskin also said on This Morning: "When [Tiger King 2 producers] presented a letter that looks to be from Homeland Security saying that Don was alive and well five years after I saw him the last time … I reached out to the FBI and said I want a copy of that letter." She continued, "I want to know what that says because part of it was redacted, and I don't know who the people involved were." [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] Image credit: New York Post[/caption] Moreover, Lewis' missing-persons case is still ongoing, though, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office confirmed to several news outlets that Lewis is still listed as missing. On another note, Baskin gained international notoriety with the release of Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness in 2020, which examined the clandestine world of big-cat breeding. After the series premiere, there was a widespread rumor that she was connected to Lewis' presumed death when he disappeared six years after the couple's wedding (he was declared dead in 2002). However, Baskin has consistently denied any involvement in his disappearance and has never faced charges.