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In one of the biggest plot twists ever, Carole Baskin says her missing former husband has been found 'alive' in Costa Rica.
The internet has been set alight with news that Don Lewis wasn’t actually minced up and fed to tigers as Joe Exotic led us to believe, as Baskin revealed her ex-partner was found alive more than a year ago.
But bizarrely, no one has noticed until now.
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Look, we know the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Kanye West's Twitter dominated headlines in the past year, but this story really snuck through the cracks.
We’re just pleased to know that Lewis is alive and well.
In November 2021, Baskin revealed in an interview with ITV’s This Morning talk show that her former husband, who was declared dead in 2002 after disappearing in 1997, is safe and sound.
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The big cat lover claimed the US Department of Homeland Security had been in contact with Lewis and had known his whereabouts for years.
“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 [Jorge] Fernandez, which means this had to have happened after 2002, because Homeland Security wasn’t even around until 2002,” she said.
She added: “They said that my husband, Don Lewis, is alive and well in Costa Rica.”
When asked if she was surprised he was alive, Baskin replied: “I didn’t think he was capable of supporting himself.
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"He took about a million dollars (AUD $1.4m) down to Costa Rica, I had agreed to let him do that so he could prove to himself that he could make a living.”
However, Baskin added that the hefty amount dwindled to USD $80,000 (AUD $115,590) as his ‘investments were so bad’.
At least he has his health, right?
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TMZ also posted a screenshot of what looked to be a document from the Department of Homeland Security confirmed Lewis was 'alive and well'.
“[Redacted] has learned that Don Lewis is currently alive and well in Costa Rica,” the letter said.
“Upon receiving this information, S/A [redacted] contacted Hillsborough Detective Jorge Fernandez and advised him of Lewis’ whereabouts.
“S/A [redacted] has learned that Lewis has loaned money to various individuals in Costa Rica and could live quite well on the interest earned from these loans.
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“Lewis could reside in Costa Rica indefinitely. This investigation will be closed.”
Fact-checking site Snopes has dug into the claim and at the moment of writing says it's 'unproven' whether Don is alive, despite Baskin's claims.
As the interview resurfaced, it sent shockwaves across Twitter.
One person wrote: “My mom just told me Carole Baskin’s husband that was presumed dead and you know we all thought she fed him to the tigers, was found alive in Costa Rica???”
Another said: “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?”
While a third commented: “Bruh we all owe Carole a huge apology. We done vilified this woman.
“Swore up and down that this lady killed her husband, just to find out Don is ALIVE!!!! Damn our bad girl.”
The US Department of Homeland Security has been approached for comment.