'Tiger King' Star Carole Baskin's Claim Her Ex-Husband Is 'Alive & Well' In Costa Rica SHOT DOWN By Florida Sheriff Overseeing Case
Jan. 19 2023, Published 12:00 p.m. ET
Tiger King star Carole Baskin’s claim her ex-husband Don Lewis was found “alive and well” has been emphatically shot down by the Florida sheriff’s office overseeing the case, RadarOnline.com has learned.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, a November 2021 interview in which Baskin claimed her former husband “is alive and well in Costa Rica” went viral on Wednesday.
But according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, there is no evidence Baskin’s ex has been found “alive and well” and the Florida department still has an open missing person case for Lewis.
“We have not received any communication from our federal partners that confirms the location of missing person Mr. Don Lewis,” Fentress Fountain, the public information officer for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, told the New York Post on Thursday.
“The investigation into Don Lewis’ disappearance remains a priority for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, as do all missing person cases,” Fountain added.
The lead detective overseeing Lewis’ missing person case, Corporal Moises Garcia, further indicated the case still remains open.
“We continue to push hard on this case,” he said on Wednesday. “We still have some avenues. Not a week goes by that we don’t have our hand in this case.”
As RadarOnline.com reported, Baskin’s November 2021 interview with ITV’s This Morning resurfaced on Wednesday and created confusion regarding Lewis’ current status and whereabouts – particularly after he “vanished” in 1997 and was declared dead in 2002.
"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 explained in the interview.
"And they said that my husband, Don Lewis, is alive and well in Costa Rica,” she added.
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Corporal Garcia has since confirmed the Department of Homeland Security “assisted” the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in the Lewis case by “running down leads in Costa Rica,” but the federal entity did not confirm Lewis was found “alive and well” in Costa Rica.
Baskin also admitted on Wednesday that she was “unaware” of the alleged revelation her ex-husband was still alive until her interview with ITV aired in November 2021.
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