Was Don Lewis Ever Found?
American missing person Jack Donald Lewis (April 30, 1938 – officially d. August 19, 2002) vanished on the morning of August 18, 1997, after leaving his house in Tampa, Florida. The scope of the search for Lewis extends from the Tampa refuge Wildlife on Easy Street, which he co-owns with his second wife Carole Baskin,…
American missing person Jack Donald Lewis (April 30, 1938 – officially d. August 19, 2002) vanished on the morning of August 18, 1997, after leaving his house in Tampa, Florida. The scope of the search for Lewis extends from the Tampa refuge Wildlife on Easy Street, which he co-owns with his second wife Carole Baskin, to property Lewis owns in Costa Rica. Although there is no proof that Lewis was murdered, investigators think it is implausible that he vanished on his own. Lewis left behind assets worth more than $5 million USD. In 2002, on the fifth anniversary of his disappearance, he was ruled legally dead. The two seasons of the crime documentary series Tiger King, which was centered on a dispute between Baskin and Oklahoma-based private zoo owner Joe Exotic, included coverage of Lewis’s abduction. Tiger King’s fame has been exploited by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to aid in the disappearance investigation.
Don Lewis is a Florida native who was born in Dade City. Lewis had established successful careers in trucking, real estate, and used car sales by the year 1981. Gladys Lewis Cross was his first wife, and together they produced three kids and an adoptive son.
Was Don Lewis Ever Found?
Despite ongoing investigations, Don Lewis’ remains were never located, and after five years of missing, he was deemed “legally dead.”
