Hillsborough Sheriff Soliciting Tips in Disappearance of Carole Baskin’s Husband

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister appealed for tips on Twitter on Monday

Carole Baskin on "Tiger King."
Carole Baskin on "Tiger King."
Netflix

Thanks to the added attention Netflix’s documentary series Tiger King has brought to the case, authorities in Florida are making a fresh appeal for tips about an unsolved disappearance.

In a Twitter post he put out on Monday, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister asked for fresh information about the disappearance of Jack Donald Lewis, the former husband of Tiger King’​s Carole Baskin.

Lewis, a multi-millionaire, was last seen on August 18, 1997, and his van was found at a Florida airport with the keys on the floor. Deputies searched a wildlife sanctuary Lewis ran at the time with his wife (Baskin) and flew to Costa Rica looking for leads, but he was never found.

Baskin, who remarried, has never been charged with any crime related to her former husband’s disappearance. Though Lewis was declared legally dead five years after he disappeared, his case remains “active and open,” according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

In a related story, a Change.org petition calling on the FBI to re-open its investigation into Lewis’ disappearance is also gaining traction.

“It’s obvious that Carole did, in fact, murder her millionaire husband and feed his remains to tigers,” according to the post with the petition. “She even made jokes hinting that she did it. The FBI needs to reopen this investigation, so that justice may be sought for Don Lewis, his memory, and his family.”

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