The family of Carole Baskin’s missing ex-husband, Don Lewis paid for a 30 second commercial asking viewers about his disappearance.
The commercial aired during a break on the debut of the 28th season of “Dancing with the Stars,” Monday evening.
The commercial features the daughters of Don Lewis and his former assistant. Each of them asks questions about their father’s disappearance. The commercial concludes with the family attorney, John M. Phillips, who mentions Carole Baskin in his question.
Don Lewis mysteriously disappeared in 1997. His family deserves answers. They deserve justice. Do you know who did this or if Carole Baskin was involved?
— John M. Phillips
In August, Phillips announced an independent investigation into Don Lewis' disappearance. He also said that on behalf of the Lewis family, he’s filed a lawsuit against Baskin in an attempt to depose her and get her to speak on the record. He and the family are offering $100,000 in exchange for information to help solve the case.
Lewis vanished a day before a scheduled trip to Costa Rica and was never found. He was declared legally dead in 2002. He and Baskin started the animal sanctuary which later became Big Cat Rescue Corp. in Tampa, Florida.
On the Netflix series “Tiger King,” Baskin sought to shut down Joseph Maldonado-Passage’s for-profit breeding of big cats. Maldonado-Passage is serving a 22-year federal prison term for killing five tigers and plotting to have Baskin killed. In June, a federal judge awarded Baskin ownership of the private Oklahoma zoo run by Maldonado-Passage.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Cox Media Group
