Don Lewis

Jack Donald Lewis (born April 30, 1938) is an American missing person who disappeared on the morning of August 18, 1997, after leaving his home in Tampa, Florida. The investigation into his disappearance has stretched from Lewis's Wildlife on Easy Street sanctuary in Tampa, co-owned with his second wife Carole Baskin, to land owned by Lewis in Costa Rica. No evidence has surfaced that Lewis was the victim of a crime, but friends, family, and investigators believe it is unlikely that he disappeared by choice because he had been executing business plans that were left unfinished.

Background Don Lewis was a native of Dade City, Florida. By 1981, Lewis had trucking, real estate and used car businesses. and had three daughters and an adopted son. Carole Murdock and Lewis began an affair although both were still married. The following year, the couple co-founded Wildlife on Easy Street (now called Big Cat Rescue), an animal sanctuary for big cats in Tampa. The two clashed over how to run the sanctuary; he wanted to breed the cats and operate it as a business while she wanted it to be a non-profit charity. According to family members, Lewis would sometimes travel there without telling anyone in advance, but would always call someone promptly after arrival so his family would know where he was.

Baskin has said that Lewis's mental health had been deteriorating, and he had begun rummaging in dumpsters and hoarding vehicles and junk. Baskin said he filed the request in retaliation for her hauling away some of his junk while he was in Costa Rica. The investigation in Costa Rica lasted five days. Most of his estate was left to Baskin. In the following week, the Sheriff's Office received about six tips a day related to Lewis's disappearance but "none credible".

Unofficial hypotheses In December 1998, Pam Lambert of People magazine wrote that there was "a wealth of suspects and scenarios, but precious little evidence" in Lewis's disappearance. Exotic has promoted an unproven theory that Baskin was involved in the disappearance of Lewis. but a septic tank was not installed on the property until years after Lewis's disappearance. Baskin later said during an interview on British talk show This Morning that the revelation of her husband's supposed whereabouts was "really exciting". Baskin's comments received renewed attention in January 2023 when articles in Cosmopolitan and the New York Post alleged that Lewis was "found alive" in Costa Rica, relying on Baskin's comments as proof. According to Snopes, claims that Lewis is alive in Costa Rica are "unproven".