‘Tiger King” star Carole Baskin said she believes her husband vanished in 1997 while flying an ultralight or experimental plane over the Gulf of Mexico.
During an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit, Baskin, 60, said she believes Don Lewis crashed over the Gulf. She alleged that Lewis did not have a license to fly, he did not file a flight plan, and he flew from closed airports to avoid being caught.
“He had to fly under 200 feet to stay off the radar which means he would typically fly out over the Gulf because the air is smoother there, whereas over land there are up and downdrafts that will crash you at the height,” she wrote.
According to Baskin, phone records suggested Lewis was en route to Texas when he vanished, and his van was located at a small private airstrip.
Lewis was last seen leaving his Tampa, Florida, home in 1997. Despite allegations made by “Tiger King” breakout star Joe Exotic, Hillsborough County police have said Baskin is not a suspect in her ex-husband’s unsolved disappearance.
However, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister revealed last year that Baskin refused to take a polygraph in 2011 in connection with Lewis’ disappearance.
Lewis was declared legally dead in 2002. Not only has Baskin repeatedly denied involvement in her husband’s presumed death, she also refuted rumors that she had him fed to cats or tigers at Big Cat Rescue, the animal sanctuary she founded.
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[Featured image: Carole Baskin/ABC/Frank Ockenfels]
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