In a statement to PEOPLE, Baskin said, in part, “This [interview] aired back in Nov. 2021 and 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[Tiger King 2]aired In Nov 2021,” Baskin’s statement continued.
The theory that Lewis was still living first popped up in Netflix’s 2021 documentary seriesTiger King2. In the show, producers show documents, allegedly from the Department of Homeland Security, that purportedly reveal Lewis is living in Costa Rica. (A screenshot from the clip is depicted here.) It’s unclear whether those documents are legitimate.
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She toldThis Morningshe believed Homeland Security had been in contact with Lewis: “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.”
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Baskin also toldThis Morning: “When [Tiger King 2producers] 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.”
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“I want to know what that says because part of it was redacted, and I don’t know who the people involved were,” she went on.
However, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office says there’s still an open missing-person investigation occurring for Lewis, telling theNew York Postin a statement, “We have not received any communication from our federal partners that confirms the location of missing person Mr. Don Lewis.”
“The investigation into Don Lewis' disappearance remains a priority for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, as do all missing person cases,” the statement continued.
PEOPLE reached out to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office but has not heard back.
Baskin rose to worldwide fame with the 2020 premiere ofTiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness,which focused on the underground world of big-cat breeding. The show followedJoseph “Joe Exotic” Maldonado-Passage, a breeder and former zoo owner who is now in prison, and his longtime feud with Baskin — which eventually turned criminal.
After the series' debut, there was rampant speculation that Baskin had been involved with Lewis' presumed death when he vanished six years after the couple’s wedding (he was declared dead in 2002). She has never been charged and has denied being involved with his disappearance.
source: people.com
