Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Harry Rutter

Carole Baskin visited lawyer of missing husband Don Lewis 'looking for proof he's alive'

Carole Baskin recently visited the lawyer of her assumed dead husband Don Lewis 'in search of proof he is alive and well in Costa Rica' - after her shocking claim.

The Big Cat Rescue star, 61, sensationally said in a TV interview that there's a document which proves her spouse is very much alive, and now she appears to be looking for it.

Multimillionaire Don was declared legally dead in 2002, that was five years after he disappeared without a trace in the summer of 1997.

Despite being long-assumed dead, Carole maintains there is a "letter from Homeland Security" which proves her husband is "alive and well".

Carole is looking for signs that husband Don is alive (Broadimage/REX/Shutterstock)
He disappeared during the summer of 1997 and was assumed dead (Netflix)

She recently visited the office of Don's lawyer and close pal Joe Fritz in search of the document – but he insists he hasn't seen it and that the letter is "full of s**t".

Carole told The Mirror: "I never knew the Homeland Security report existed until I saw it in Tiger King 2 in November 2021.

"Since Joseph Fritz was the person presenting the document in the show, I figured he would probably have a copy of it, so I went to his office shortly thereafter to see if I could meet with him, but he never called me back even though I left my business card."

Confirming Carole's visit, Joe explained: "She walked into my office and wanted to know if I had a copy of that report.

Carole told The Mirror why she visited Joe's office (ABC)

"She won’t get one anywhere in the world. Nobody will give her a copy and they’re not going to give anyone a copy. Why would she want that report?"

Joe maintains that the "letter's existence is nothing new" and that someone at the government "thought he’d uncovered something when they hadn't".

He told The U.S. Sun: "Nobody I know outside of police work has ever seen that document. We’ve asked for it but they won’t give it up."

Don's disappearance played a key role in Tiger King - with many viewers becoming convinced it was part of a massive conspiracy - and a range of theories being thrown around.

Don was declared legally dead back in 2002 (Netflix)

There is no evidence Lewis was murdered, no arrests or charges were made, and Carole wasn't named as a suspect and has always denied any involvement in his disappearance.

His vanishing looked set to remain one of life's greatest mysteries, until Carole claimed to have confirmation he is actually alive on an episode of ITV's This Morning.

In November last year, Carole told Phillip Schofield and Josie Gibson that she was told Don was alive in Costa Rica.

Carole claimed that Don was alive and well on This Morning (ITV)

She told the presenters: "I'll tell what, 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 reached out to the Sheriff's Detective.

"Which means this had to have happened after 2002 because Homeland Security wasn't even around until 2002, and they said that my husband Don Lewis is alive and well in Costa Rica.

"And yet all of this hate has been made about me having something to do with his appearance when Homeland Security has known where he is since at least back then," Carole continued.

Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.