EXCLUSIVECarole Baskin's Letter Allegedly Proving Missing Husband Was Found 'Doesn't Exist Within Homeland Security'
Carole Baskin claimed to have seen a letter from Homeland Security proving her missing husband Don Lewis had been found alive and well in Costa Rica in the early 2000s, but according to a law enforcement source connected to the initial missing persons case, that document is not legitimate.
"I had a source at Homeland Security. That document is a made up document," the source exclusively tells OK!. "It's my opinion that she [Carole Baskin] created that document. That document doesn't exist within Homeland Security. It was never presented to the Sheriff's Department, the FBI, anybody that was involved in this case by her or Homeland Security."
He also confirms that there were three separate files on Lewis' mysterious disappearance, but "that document is not in" any of them.
Joe Exotic was accused of hiring people to kill big cat rescue owner Carole Baskin.
He further notes that his own source at Homeland Security told him that the document in question is not even one that the department uses, down to the letterhead itself being incorrect.
"She made that document up, I promise you," he adds.
As OK! previously reported, Lewis went missing in 1997 with no public records indicating he'd taken a flight or otherwise traveled outside of the country. All use of his debit and credit cards stopped immediately following his disappearance.
- Attorney Friend Of Carole Baskin's Missing Ex-Husband Calls 'Bullsh**' On Alleged Homeland Security Letter
- Carole Baskin Refused To Let Police Search Her Property Following The Mysterious Disappearance Of Ex-Husband Don Lewis
- 'Tiger King' Star Carole Baskin Breaks Silence After News Her Ex-Husband Don Lewis Was Found Alive In Costa Rica Goes Viral
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
Baskin reported him missing to police two or three days later, but according to the same source, the Tiger King star didn't tell Lewis' family or his employees working for his trucking company that he had gone missing.
"The people that were going into work and volunteering there [at Big Cat Rescue], one of them said it was business as usual with her," he said at the time. "Like she never said that 'Don's missing, we need to search for him' .. there was none of that."
Lewis' family eventually found out that he had disappeared after being told by one of the businessman's assistants.
Powered by RedCircle
Meanwhile, Baskin allegedly "created a narrative" that her then-husband had been suffering from some form of dementia, telling investigators that he'd been to doctors and had MRI's to learn more about his supposed medical condition — however, the source stated there was "absolutely no documentation" that said he was ever treated for that.
His staff also assured police at the time that Lewis had been "of sound mind" leading up to his disappearance.
Baskin has since failed to fully cooperate with the investigation and has refused to allow her property to be searched.
Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for!
