Controversial DWTS Alum Suggests Missing Ex Isn’t Dead

Caution tape.

Getty Images A DWTS alum's husband has been missing since 1997.

Controversial “Dancing With the Stars” competitor Carole Baskin is making headlines after a November 2021 interview resurfaced online.

According to Sky News, the “Tiger King” star previously claimed that her missing ex-husband Don Lewis — thought to be dead — was actually alive and living in Costa Rica. Baskin discussed how she learned that Lewis was alive during an interview with ITV News that started to go viral in January 2023.

The resurfaced interview has caused a frenzy amongst “Tiger King” fans, many of whom are wondering if Lewis really is alive and if the missing persons case has actually been closed.

Here’s what you need to know:


Baskin Previously Said a ‘Letter From Homeland Security’ Shown on ‘Tiger King’ Season 2 Proves That Lewis Isn’t Dead

If you’ve watched “Tiger King,” you probably know that Lewis has been missing since 1997. Five years later, he was declared legally dead, though his remains have never been found. After watching the hit Netflix series, many people were convinced that Baskin had something to do with Lewis’ disappearance — which she has adamantly denied.

During her interview with ITV News in November 2021, Baskin highlighted a part of “Tiger King 2” that she suggests absolves her from having anything to do with Lewis’ whereabouts.

“One of the really exciting things that came out of ‘Tiger King 2’ is that they produced a letter from Homeland Security and it says that a special agent in charge with the FBI at Homeland Security reached out to the sheriff’s detective George Fernandez, which means this had to have happened after 2002, because Homeland Security wasn’t even around until 2002,” Baskin said.

“They said that my husband, Don Lewis, is alive and well in Costa Rica. And yet all of this hay has been made about me having something to do with his disappearance, when Homeland Security has known where he is at least since back then,” she added.

Though it’s more than a year old, the interview has become a hot topic of conversation on Twitter.

Heavy reached out to Baskin to ask her if she believed that Lewis was alive.

“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,” she told us via email.

Additionally, she shared a link to a copy of the document, which can be seen here.


Lewis Is Still Considered a Missing Person Despite Baskin’s Claims

After the chatter made Lewis’ story go viral all over again, TMZ contacted the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and a spokesperson told the outlet that they were never informed about Lewis being found “alive and well” as Baskin claims.

In fact, the sheriff’s office, which oversees cases in Tampa, Florida, where Lewis once lived, still considers this a high priority missing person’s case.

Heavy has also contacted the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for an update.

In 2021, Cpl. Moises Garcia spoke with Fox News about Lewis’ case and he said that Baskin hasn’t been cooperative with law enforcement. At the time, Garcia said that the release of “Tiger King 2” reignited people’s interest in the case and law enforcement had received numerous tips which kicked the search for Lewis into high gear.

However, no leads have turned out successful in finding Lewis, and, as of November 2021, HCSO had no definitive answers. According to TMZ’s report on January 19, 2023, the case is still very much active.

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