Florida Sheriff Renews Search for Missing Man Featured in Netflix’s ‘Tiger King’
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has renewed its search for a missing millionaire following the explosive popularity of Netflix’s “Tiger King” series.
Sheriff Chad Chronister tweeted out a call for new leads related to the 1997 the disappearance of Jack “Don” Lewis on Monday, citing the increased interest in the case following the Netflix docuseries’ debut earlier this month.
“Since @netflix and #Covid19 #Quarantine has made #TigerKing all the rage, I figured it was a good time to ask for new leads,” Chronister wrote.
*Also Read:* 'Tiger King' Producers Push Back on Carole Baskin's Criticism of Series: 'She Certainly Wasn't Coerced'
Released on Netflix on March 20, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” tells the story of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, a.k.a. “Joe Exotic,” the former tiger zoo owner who’s currently serving a 22-year prison sentence after hiring a hitman to kill Carole Baskin, a rival big cat enthusiast and owner of the Big Cat Rescue sanctuary.
Lewis, Baskin’s then-husband, disappeared in 1997, and Maldonado-Passage has accused Baskin of killing him and feeding him to her tigers. Baskin has criticized the series for including Maldonado-Passage’s allegation in the narrative, calling the series “salacious and sensational.”
“Don was not easy to live with and like most couples, we had our moments,” Baskin wrote in a blog post. “But I never threatened him and I certainly had nothing to do with his disappearance. When he disappeared, I did everything I could to assist the police. I encouraged them to check out the rumors from Costa Rica, and separately I hired a private investigator.”
Since @netflix and #Covid19 #Quarantine has made #TigerKing all the rage, I figured it was a good time to ask for new leads. #CaroleBaskin #DonLewis #Netflix #Tiger #BigCatRescue #JoeExotic #TigerKingNetflix #HCSO pic.twitter.com/LHoJcBZVOI
— Chad Chronister (@ChadChronister) March 30, 2020
*Related stories from TheWrap:*
'Tiger King' Producers Push Back on Carole Baskin's Criticism of Series: 'She Certainly Wasn't Coerced'
Edward Norton and Dax Shepard Both Think They Should Play 'Tiger King' Star Joe Exotic in a Biopic
'Tiger King': All the Weird, Totally Real Music in Netflix True Crime Series, From 'I Saw a Tiger' to 'Here, Kitty Kitty' (Videos)