Tiger King Prompts Florida Sheriff To Seek New Leads On Don Lewis' Disappearance

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is a Netflix true crime documentary focusing on the bizarre world of private exotic animal collectors in the USA. It's been keeping viewers hooked with a story that seems too insane to be true, featuring murder plots, polygamy, drugs, tiger maulings, and rich husbands mysteriously disappearing.

It's the last of those that Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister is interested in, however. The sheriff has posted out a tweet that namechecks Netflix, the Tiger King doco, and even the COVID-19 quarantine situation for bringing the case back into the light.

The disappearance of Carole Baskin's husband Don Lewis is the focus of the series' third episode, The Secret (spoilers if you haven't watched this far yet). Baskin, owner of Big Cat Rescue and nemesis of titular Tiger King Joe Exotic, inherited most of her multi-millionaire husband's wealth when he went missing in 1997, leading many to accuse her of having a hand in his presumed death.

Joe Exotic and others interviewed for the documentary aren't shy of accusing Baskin of murdering her husband, even claiming she could have fed his body to the tigers. Baskin for her part maintains her innocence, saying she would rather Lewis's body was found so she could clear her name once and for all. Other theories suggest Lewis faked his death and fled to Costa Rica in secret. Since the documentary was released, a post has been published on Big Cat Rescue telling Carole Baskin's side of events and how she feels they were misrepresented in the documentary.

Whatever happened to Don Lewis, Sheriff Chronister wants to find out. With Tiger King repeatedly taking out the number one spot in Netflix's internal chart, in a time where more people than usual are watching Netflix, there's a possibility that one of those viewers could have a legitimate lead. And if they do, maybe we'll get a Tiger King Part 2?