All language subtitles for Cold.Case.Detective.S02E03.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP.2.0.H.264-deadorbit_track3_[eng]

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- [William] Jack Donald Lewis,
known to his enormous family

and devout fans as a big cat expert

and businessman
extraordinaire was a shrewd

and incredibly successful leader

of the exotic animal enterprise.

His deep rooted connection
with tending to wildlife

and building businesses,

as well as his unparalleled
real estate resourcefulness

was cut short by an unexplainable,

unsolved disappearance
on August 18th, 1997,

leaving all who knew him
across Tampa, Florida,

grasping for answers in a sea of evidence

that drowned us all in doubt.

As a hope to provide more
substantial reasoning

built on observable evidence
and situational analysis,

this is an examination of the
disappearance of Don Lewis

and the dumbfounding mystery born

at his famous Wildlife on Easy Street.

This is "Cold Case Detective."

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Don Lewis was born as Jack Donald Lewis

on April 30th, 1938 in Dade city, Florida.

In Don's early years as a child,

his father abandoned the family

and left Dawn's mother to
raise him and his two siblings.

While Don's mother did her
best to support her children

through freelance gigs
as a for-hire seamstress

and bread baker, her
income wasn't quite enough.

Thus to help aid his mother
and take care of the family,

Don started working at a young age,

forming the foundation
to his business ethics.

As an adolescent, Don
helped out a local mechanic

and worked as a farmhand
for nearby ranch owners,

and successfully graduated
from Pasco High School in 1955.

When he was only 17 years old,

Don married his first wife,

known today as Gladys Lewis Cross.

Together the couple had three
daughters and adopted a son

just as Don continued to
expand his economic prowess.

He worked countless
odd jobs around Florida

and eventually settled
in the used car business

and automotive trade.

Slowly but surely, Don built his brand

scrapping old machines, selling
parts and metal resources

while simultaneously investing
in real estate opportunities.

Don would buy parcels of
land to develop and resell,

sometimes keeping tracks
of land for himself

for future business ideas.

Before long, Don was a
self-made millionaire,

and the prime example of the
American dream in action,

starting from nothing and
forging his own path to success.

Friends and associates of Don would say

that no one could tell his
success just by looking at him.

He always dressed like a normal laborer

and kept his public life simple.

However, he would keep a
$500 bill in his pocket

at all times, a symbol of
his ability to turn anything

he touched into profits.

A true green thumb.

However, Don's personal life
wasn't quite so perfect.

It was a well-known fact
after his first marriage

that he was a womanizer,
and often found mistresses

or second girlfriends to take care of,

despite having the family back home.

One such instance occurred in 1981

when Don met a young woman named
Carole Murdoch at the time,

on Nebraska Avenue in Tampa, Florida.

Carole was walking alone
at night and crying

after struggling with her
then husband Michael Murdoch.

Don asked Carole if she needed a ride,

and initially Carole rejected him.

However, Don circled
around in his truck anyway,

even offering the gun in
his passenger seat to Carole

to use as protection while he drove,

explaining that he needed
someone to talk to as well.

Carole finally agreed,
and after conversing

with one another for a while,

Carole stayed with him that
night and the two fell in love.

Of course, this sent shock
waves through Don's family,

and tensions arose between
him and his then wife, Gladys.

Nevertheless, Don continued
his relationship with Carole

who joined his real estate business

and helped increase his profits
through major land sales.

Not long afterwards, Don
and Carole's relationship

became too serious to ignore,

and they divorced their respective spouses

and married in 1991.

With the excess money from Don's empire,

he bought his new cat-loving wife a bobcat

called Windsong at an auction.

The couple then began buying big cats

from a breeder in Minnesota

who was planning on slaughtering
them for the fur trade.

As was perhaps in his nature,

Don viewed this as another
chance to create a business.

And in 1992 founded Wildlife
on Easy Street with Carole,

and what would lead to
become Big Cat Rescue.

Carole, however, thought the
initiatives should be a charity

not just for profit, but Don disagreed,

and slowly tensions arose between the two.

Over the next few years,

Don continued developing
Wildlife on Easy Street

and started buying more animals.

In 1995, he bought his first
tiger from Dennis Hill.

And around the same time
was beginning the process

of taking his beloved emporium

and moving it to Costa Rica,

where he'd been buying vast tracks of land

and making connections and associates

on the tropical island.

At the same time, others began thinking

that Don was using Costa Rica

as a means to attract women
unbeknownst to Carole,

and escaping away with
Costa Rican mistresses.

This continued to damage
the pairs relationship,

and soon it fell beyond repair.

In early 1997, Don Lewis
began preparing for divorce,

gathering his assets together

and planning for a
future away from Carole.

Carole claims that at this same time

he began showing early signs of dementia.

His short-term memory declining

while digging through dumpsters

and collecting junk for
seemingly no good reason.

Don's lawyer and business associates

later said this wasn't proven,

and they had never witnessed Don

in a worsening state of mind.

Regardless, Don's frantic
behavior did include

a growing fear of Carole.

And in June of 1997,

he filed a restraining order against her.

After she verbally threatened to kill him.

According to Don, Carole was
in possession of multiple guns,

but the courts never
granted him protection

due to her freedoms of speech
under the first amendment,

and they felt she posed no
true physical harm to him.

Don was a worried man,

and soon his paranoia was proven correct,

when at the end of that same
summer, the threats, confusion

and anxiety gave way to a tragic mystery.

Let us now review the timeline of events

that led to the
disappearance of Don Lewis.

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In June of 1997, Don Lewis
begins exhibiting signs

of paranoia, anxiety and fear

centering around his
then wife Carole Lewis

now known as Carole Baskin.

He gives his executive
assistant at the time,

Anne McQueen, an envelope
containing a restraining order

against Carole to be
submitted to the local courts.

This document contains
unnerving quotes by Don,

such as quote, "This is
the second time Carole

"has gotten angry enough
to threaten to kill me.

"Carole got in a big fuss.

"She ordered me out the
house or she would kill me.

"She has a .45 revolver and
she took my .357 and hit it."

Later that June, the Florida
courts denied protection

from the restraining order,

saying Carole is no immediate threat,

and that the first amendment
granting free speech

allows her to say such
things without consequence.

Throughout the summer, Don's
erratic behavior continues.

He tells his former wife, Gladys,

and a couple of their children
to stay away from Carole,

that he's done with her and
planning to divorce her.

He speaks his final words to them,

saying Carole is one of the worst people

and quite dangerous.

Not long after this encounter,

Don repeats the same information
about his probable divorce

to business associates, Wendell Williams.

Don signals to Wendell that he is putting

most of his possessions
in a protective state

that would allow them to
keep most of what he owned

and away from a settlement.

Some time in July of 1997,

Don gets together with
another friend, Mike McCarthy,

and tells him that he feels
his life is in danger.

As July turns to August,

Don informs his lawyer, Joseph Fritz,

he's in search of another
small passenger plane

to add to his collection of planes.

He finds one he likes, but
the aircraft needs work

to be able to fly for
longer durations of time.

At some points during the
first two and a half weeks

of that same August,
Don has a conversation

with his longtime handyman
of 15 years, Kenny Farr,

while they build a new
complex cage for the big cats.

Don remarks that he has
vague plans of some sorts,

plans he never fully explains to Kenny,

but is intent on carrying out.

At the end of their talk, Don says, quote,

"If I can pull this off,

"it will have been the slickest thing

"I've ever done in my life."

Before Kenny can ask for clarity,

Don leaves to attend a phone call

and never finishes his thoughts.

It would be the last thing
Don ever says to Kenny.

On Friday 15th, Don's assistant
Anne McQueen calls Don

regarding paperwork
for cars he's preparing

to take down to Costa Rica.

despite multiple attempts
to reach him by phone,

Anne isn't able to make contact.

Anne continues calling
throughout that weekend,

but she still has no luck.

In the evening of August 17th,

Don prepares to drive down to Miami

and then travel on to Costa Rica.

He tells Carole he needs a truck

made available for travel
by his handyman, Kenny,

but it's unknown if he ever secures one.

That night and into the early
morning hours of August 18th.

Carole makes her own plans to do chores

and run errands for the Big Cat Resort.

At around 3:00 a.m.,

Carole goes to a shop called Albertsons

to buy milk by-product for the cats.

Her car breaks down, but
she's saved by her brother,

a local Sheriff's deputy,

who gives her a ride back to her home.

Just a few hours later, a
little prior to 6:00 a.m.

on August 18th, 1997,

Don Lewis leaves his now
to make an early delivery

of real estate paperwork to
his lawyer's main office,

then to travel to Miami
and ultimately Costa Rica.

This would be the last confirmed sighting

of Jack Donald Lewis.

Nearly 36 hours pass by
and no one hears from Don.

Anne calls Carole with real concern

and suggests they get
the authorities involved.

Carole agrees and at about
1:30 p.m. on August 19th,

she telephones law enforcement

to officially report Don
Lewis as a missing person.

In the first 24 hours

after the missing
person's report is filed,

police and a few volunteers

combed Don's entire 40 acre
property in Tampa, Florida,

including the Wildlife
on Easy Street resort.

Despite a thorough search,
including aerial support,

detectives find no clues
or anything to suggest

they should continue
digging at Don's residence.

On August 20th, the Hillsborough
County Sheriff's Office

discovers Don's personal
van, a 1989 Dodge Ram

parked and abandoned at
the Pilots Country Airport

in Spring Hill, Florida,

about 40 miles away from
Don's last appearance

at his animal sanctuary.

Besides the keys to
the van and a briefcase

full of insignificant documents,

nothing of notes is
found inside the vehicle,

and the trail of clues
is frozen once again.

Over the next four to five days,

detectives traveled down to Costa Rica

to progress the manhunt.

While investigating every
nook and cranny possible,

law enforcement discovers
Don had been engaged

in extramarital affairs
whilst in Costa Rica.

They interview possible
connections to Don,

and those who knew of the businessman,

but still find zero leads.

The only thing remarkable
that investigators learn

is that two of Don's exotic animals,

a pair of ocelots were shipped out

just before Don disappeared,

but where they went is still unknown.

Initial reports once Don's disappearance

reaches national headlines,

state that they believe Don
probably walked away on his own.

But as time goes on, both of
the media and investigators

start thinking something
more sinister is at play.

A few days after the one year anniversary

of Don's vanishing, on August 23rd, 1998,

Carole refuses to take a polygraph test

or allow investigators to
carry out an intensive search

of her wildlife sanctuary
or the meat freezers,

citing legal advice from her attorney.

Later in 1998, Don Lewis'
his ex wife, Gladys,

and their daughters
publicly accused Carole

of being responsible for Don's fate,

and discarding the body via
the exotic animals they own.

This is heavily refuted by Carole.

In August, 2002, on the
five-year and one day mark

since he first disappeared,

Don is declared legally dead by Carole

and his wills are put
solely in her possession,

due to the specific verbiage
used in his documents.

Nine years later in 2011,

Carole is asked one more
time by investigators

to undergo a polygraph test.

Once again, she refuses this request.

Over the next decade, countless
conspiracies and folktales

are created by curious
bystanders of the case,

and by those with ties to
Don, his ex-wife Carole.

and their big cats business.

However, John Mariscano,
the lead homicide detective

and spokesman of the investigation

for Hillsborough County Sheriff

has shot down any and all
gossip in April of 2020,

stating that authorities
have no prime suspects,

no leads and still no updates

regarding the disappearance of Don Lewis,

a case just as cold as it had been

in that early August
morning, 23 years before.

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Not a lot of physical evidence remains

in the Don Lewis disappearance,

and without a final phone
call recording left over,

or CCTV footage capturing
Don's penultimate movements,

there's not much to run with.

However, one discovery does provide us

at least a hint of what happened
to Don before he vanished.

Even if it does bring more
confusion than clarity.

The day after Don was reported missing,

investigators discovered
his 1989 Dodge Ram van

discarded at the Pilot Country Airport

in SpringHill, Florida.

The airport was about
40 miles, give or take,

from Don's personal residence.

And initially thought to be

where he flew out of that August morning.

The troubling thing
was that almost nothing

was left behind in the van,

and the things that were did not preclude

a self-made decision to escape.

Inside were the van's keys

and Don's briefcase full of random papers.

Unfortunately, the police did not

impound the vehicle right away,

leaving it abandoned in that parking lot,

allowing for possible tampering

and for critical physical
evidence to be removed

if there was something
hidden on the atomic level

When the police did analyze the forensics,

they found nothing but
normal traces of Don

and a second pair of fingerprints

belonging to an auto
mechanic, Dale Lively.

When law enforcement interviewed Dale,

he gave proof of a perfectly
innocent explanation,

stating a few days
before the disappearance,

Don had swung by the shop and asked Dale

to work on the van.

During their interaction,

Don also asked Dale to
come with him to Costa Rica

to help on his land,

further indicating that
Don was fully committed

to a southward trip.

Dale declined, and the van situation

became just another dead end

in a case full of
questions without answers.

Many people associated with the case

believe the van is assigned
that Don was kidnapped,

and not assigned that he
left on his own accord.

Detectives agree, thinking the van

was planted at the airport,
either to simply get rid of it,

or to make investigators
think it was Don's final stop.

Regardless, the amount of
time it took authorities

to analyze the insides
of the van for forensics

creates a massive what
if in the search for Don.

And it is sadly the biggest clue

they've received to date,

one which may have been
regrettably squandered.

With the facts of the case understood,

now let's turn to the dominant theories

in the case of the
disappearance of Don Lewis.

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Like so many cold cases around the world,

the disappearance of Don
Lewis has been the fodder

for some truly outlandish
claims and conspiracies

sparked by both family members

and those with disdain
for Don's former partners.

Sadly, these brash and
borderline barbaric theories

have been glamorized and focused on

by one particular series
and it's ensuing publicity.

So we will do our best to
dissect each theory with clarity

and reasoning backed by evidence

to properly respect the facts of the case

and the man who went missing.

It's our belief that truth and respect

to the facts of the case
should always take precedence.

And it is insulting to
Don Lewis' his memory

and potentially damaging to his case

to sacrifice these in the pursuit

of an overdramatized
quotes, unquote, good story.

The first real theory
reported by those involved

with Don Lewis' personal
life came from his daughters

and his first ex wife,
Gladys Lewis Cross in 1998,

only one year after Don went missing.

They made a public
interview in People magazine

theorizing that Carole
Baskin had indeed killed Don,

and then dispose of his
body there a meat grinder,

and then feeding it to her tigers

at the Big Cat Rescue sanctuary.

Donna Pettis, one of Don's daughters,

felt the police didn't
do a thorough enough job

searching the property,

and should've carried
out forensic analysis

on Carole's meat grinder,
testing it for Don's DNA.

Carole has vehemently
denied such possibilities,

claiming the meat grinder
in question was too small

to even handle something
like a human hand,

let alone an entire full
grown adult male body.

Not only this, but what
many people fail to realize,

and what one documentary
fails to make widely known

is that the meat grinder
in question was removed

from the Big Cat rescue weeks
before Don went missing,

confirmed by the Sheriff's
office investigating Don's case.

And if Carole did try to use a corpse

as food for her big cats,
there's absolutely no way

bones and forensic evidence
would not be left behind.

The acidity of a tiger's
stomach is strong,

but not strong enough to
completely destroy human remains.

There would be a significant
amount of bones, blood,

and tissue leftover.

And to try to clean up
every bit of the leftovers

and leave absolutely no hints of the act

is too far-fetched to believe.

Such a vile act, even if utilized,

would leave behind too much evidence,

and investigators certainly

would have picked up on something.

Nevertheless, these outlandish claims

only picked up steam when
notorious big cat collector

and nemesis of Carolee Baskin, Joe exotic,

created an obscene music video

flaunting the tiger feeding hypothesis.

But that wasn't his only crazy claim.

Joe Exotic became obsessed
with another theory

that while Carole was still responsible

for her husband's disappearance,

she actually hid his body under the ground

at Big Cat Rescue,

digging up the dirt where
her septic tank rested

and putting Dawn's body in that.

Covering it up and pretending
as if nothing had happened.

Joe made many public pleas

for investigators to excavate the earth

around the property and
check the septic tank.

And this idea spread
around his own exotic zoo

where employees began
believing that same conclusion.

However, the documentaries is covering Joe

and his theories also fail
to share the information

that debunks his theory as well.

The septic tank in question,

in a similar vein to the meat grinder

was not installed on the
Big Cat rescue sanctuary

until multiple years
after Don went missing.

If Don was buried
somewhere on the property,

it was no where near the septic tank.

In addition, it makes
little sense for Carole

to bury Don on her own property,

where future digs on construction work

will almost assuredly take
place and risk discovery.

Now, all this being said, to
completely remove Carole Baskin

as a suspect's would be premature.

While she has consistently
denied any involvement,

there are pieces to her past
that might suggest a motive,

or at least further consideration.

The major piece of the case

that might preclude motivation for Carole

is Don's promiscuity and overall stance

on the wildlife projects
he and Carole had created.

It is well-known that Don saw the tigers

and various big cats as
nothing more than a business,

and thought of it as a means to make money

rather than any real charity.

While they were initially
together in that viewpoint,

Carole eventually wanted the
sanctuary to be exactly that,

a place where rescued cats could live

approved by fellow activists,

saving them from immoral and cub abuse.

This requires a lot of money,

and Carole had Don to fall back on.

Some in Don's inner circle said he hated

losing his money to her spending.

And that being a millionaire

married to someone without much money

is a treacherous combination.

But we mustn't pretend that
Don was perfect either.

He was also involved in
various extramarital affairs,

having multiple girlfriends,
despite his marriage to Carole,

including a secret mistress
down in Costa Rica.

With a clashing philosophy
and a dying marriage,

Carole May have sought to end

what was becoming a toxic situation.

In fact, pages from her personal diaries

exposed by various sources
found entries written by Carole

stating things such as quote,

"I wish there was some way out,"

of her relationship with Don,

not to mention her verbal threats.

Eventually her wish was granted,

and most suspiciously of all,

Carole Baskin did end up
the biggest beneficiary

of Don's vanishing.

Not long after he went missing,

Carole cut off all the
utilities to Don's office,

took out his wills and powers of attorney

and held onto them until
the very first date

she was allowed to
declare him legally dead,

the five-year and one day
anniversary of his disappearance

Even stranger was that

when the powers of attorney were read,

lawyers found that a special
clause had been written

granting Carole head of Don's
estates, not after his death,

but specifically after his disappearance.

Multiple lawyers have said

this is an irregular clause
for such legal documents,

as people rarely expect to disappear.

Not only that, but Carole
ended up inheriting 90%

of Don's worth, leaving just 10% behind

for Don's former family.

Now it should be stated that
Don had instructed Carole

to leave them with 0%,

but she decided to help them regardless,

citing their blood relationship
to Don as meaningful.

Does the strange disappearance
clause in Don's will,

combined with his infidelity

and strict business-minded
pursuits make Carole the killer?

No, but it does raise
suspicion in her motivations

as millions of dollars were at stake

to keep her dream of
saving big cats alive.

Some have pointed out

that just because she
Don legally declared dead

that the first day possible

doesn't mean she was
the mastermind either,

and they half a point.

Wouldn't it be ridiculously obvious

is to carry out such a
suspicious legal action?

If Carole was indeed at fault,

drawing attention to the matter
wouldn't be her priority.

It's also possible that
she wasn't the killer,

but rather had blood on her hands,

arranging for someone else to handle Don.

It is undoubtedly deeply suspicious.

There are many people afraid of Carole,

including Don himself,

but fear, circumstantial
evidence and speculation

unfortunately does not
mean the party is guilty

without physical evidence.

Of course, Carole Baskin
isn't the only one

subject to theories of involvement.

In fact, many people wonder if Don

wasn't involved with anything malicious

or any third party at all,

but rather left on his own
accord or died trying to do so.

With his vast resources
and millions of dollars,

Don certainly have the capital necessary

to pull off a stunt and
escape his previous life.

Perhaps he was done with
the big cat operation

and the hassle of dealing with
such a consuming business.

Perhaps his affairs with women
were catching up with him

and he wanted to start over.

Or perhaps he was truly fearful of Carole

and set up his estate so she would profit

over his disappearance
while he got to start over

on the far side of the world.

These theorists believe
Don faked a kidnapping,

fully intending to fly out
of Miami that August morning

and never returned.

He could have put his van

in a different airport parking lot

to throw police office trail,

popped on another flight

and vanished in the blink of an eye.

It's not out of the realm of possibility

that Don had money outside
of his known estates,

or was saving up for this exact scenario.

Don was full of secrets

and constantly plotting his next move,

preparing for the future better than most.

In fact, Don's personal
handyman, Kenny Farr

told reporters he knew Don
would bury money and gold bars

around his various properties,

and was probably worth around 20 million,

15 million more than his lawyers thoughts.

Remember that Kenny was
the person Don told, quote,

"If I can pull this off, it
will be the slickest thing

"I've ever done in my life."

Could it have been a great escape plan?

Many think it to be
possible, but not Kenny.

He doesn't understand
why Don would leave a van

as an airport at all.

Even if it wasn't the right one.

It would be too big a clue
that Don was running away,

and make it much harder
to become invisible.

Both Don's lawyer, Joseph
Fritz and lead investigator

of Hillsborough County Sheriff's office,

John Marsicano agree,

saying Don was more likely
to have been killed.

The other arguments that
Don left on his own will,

but perished unexpectedly
is also heavily gossiped.

Some followers of the case,
including Carole Baskin herself,

think that Don may have
got into one of his planes

to fly to Costa Rica, but
crashed somewhere in the ocean.

There is, however, a lot of evidence

to suggest this is false.

Detective Marsicano points
to the lack of flight records

going to Costa Rica that day,

and the lack of crash reports in the area

for the same timeline.

Theorists then report that
Don was a known illegal flyer,

having lost his pilot's license,
but choosing to fly anyway,

operating his planes low
and under radar detection.

Yes again, detective Marsicano
refutes these claims,

saying every plane Don
owned was far too small

to make the trip to Costa Rica in one go.

If Don did get in a plane and
attempted to travel South,

it would have been desperate and unsafe,

possibly hinting at the
deteriorating state of mind

that some have claimed
that Don was suffering from

before he disappeared.

As previously noted, Don
was experiencing symptoms

of onset dementia and may have
been overcome with fatigue,

paranoia, or a combination of the two.

This would explain his
ramblings to his friends

about being in fear for his life

and constantly looking over his shoulder,

conspiring against his then wife, Carole.

The problem with this theory, though,

is that if Don was truly
dealing with memory loss

and dementia, he would not be
able to successfully vanish

without a trace so easily.

If his mental faculties
were becoming compromised,

surely he would have
made a mistake somewhere.

Plus a lots of close associates to Don

don't believe the dementia stories anyway,

saying he was of sound mind

and honestly genuinely
terrified for his life.

So if it doesn't appear
that Carole killed Don,

and it wasn't Don who left by choice,

who was responsible for his disappearance?

A few people think Joe Exotic
was actually the one to blame,

wondering if he may have
taken Don out to spite Carole

and derail the future of
Wildlife on Easy Street.

Claiming the validity
and such a conspiracy,

knowing John was guilty of other plots

against Carole's life.

However, it should be noted

that Joe and Carole's bitter
rivalry did not exist in 1997,

and no such evidence supports this idea.

A few others point to militant
animal rights activists,

or think that Don had
connections to drug lords

in South America that wanted him dead.

Regardless, the fact of the matter

is the police have no hard evidence

and have no prime suspects in their sites.

Anyone could be at fault.

And that's what makes
Don Lewis' disappearance

all the more tragic.

(dramatic music)

Before we divulge our hypothesis

of Don Lewis' unsolved disappearance,

we want to make it known
that our conclusions

presented in "Cold Case Detective,"

are purely logical
speculation based on evidence,

circumstance and factual subtext.

We are only privy to the same information

presented in each video, and
we do not promise certainty

or an expert guarantee on the
findings we reach in closing.

We simply observe, research and report.

In the case of Don Lewis,

we believe he was kidnapped, murdered,

or a combination of the two.

So many of the people involved
with Don and his life,

such as business associates,

family members, his personal lawyer,

and the lead investigators looking for him

believe the same to be true,

that somebody or
somebodies wanted Don dead,

whether it be for vengeance,
spites, or pure malice.

The tricky part of the equation, is who?

without a doubt, Don Lewis'
killer was both close to him

and had the resources to
carry out a seamless homicide.

The perpetrator had to be close to Don

to know of his planned trips to Costa Rica

and multiple projects down there,

and be able to use that as
a blind for investigators,

tricking people into thinking
he disappeared purposefully.

Now this doesn't necessarily
trim down the list of suspects,

because Don had a lot of
friends and a lot of enemies,

each of whom knew of
his Costa Rica paradise.

Yet it does signal the killer was smart

and knew how to arrange a
multifaceted kidnapping.

In addition to smarts,

the killer had to have
the money to hire someone

to get rid of Don or to do it themselves

without ever leaving so
much as a hair follicle.

In the case of a
multimillionaire like Don was,

removing them from the face of the earth

is going to take a pretty penny.

So how did they do it?

A lot is left to be desired
in the investigation

in terms of clues and concrete timelines.

But if the killer was an associate to Don,

they probably had secretly
arranged a meeting

early that August 18th morning with him.

He was already out to make a delivery

and head to Miami for a flight.

So the arrangement was
probably just another stop.

It was here they likely kidnapped him,

drove his van to the
airport as a fake out,

and disposed of him elsewhere.

There's also the idea that
Don could be meeting someone

with his own planes.

And when they took off,
he was out over the ocean

by his murderer, a theory
brought up by his lawyer.

Whatever the method was, it
ended with a clean getaway.

Could it have been Carole Baskin?

It is entirely possible.

In addition to the theories
mentioned previously,

Carole's own family had a disdain for Don.

And speaking of her family,

she also had a brother as a
deputy in the Sheriff's office

who was one of the last
people to be around Don

right before he went missing.

Plenty of people have come
forward to quickly strike down

theories of collusion in law enforcement,

or any involvement from Carole's brother,

citing their weak
relationship to begin with.

Both Carole and Anne McQueen,
the assistant who probably

knew Don Lewis better than he knew himself

were intensely vetted by detectives,

cleared off any wrongdoing

and never labeled as prime suspects.

It doesn't rule them out completely,

but it does give credence
to the fact there is simply

no lead at the forefront
of the investigation.

It's important to remember
that at the center

of the entire case is a
man whose fate is unknown.

The humanity and tragedy of
which is sometimes obscured

by the glorification
of conspiracy theories

and internet jokes.

There are loved ones
and friends of Don Lewis

who are desperate for answers

and longing to know what happened to him.

But instead of receiving real help,

they have to wake up every
day to see his face and name

abused by people looking
to profit off his mystery

and laughing at the idea
that he was fed to tigers.

It is so important to remember

that the people in these
cases where people,

real people who deserve
respect and justice.

And the abuse of their stories
to make shocking headlines

and quick money is insidious.

Was Don Lewis a perfect man?

No, by no stretch of the imagination.

He, like all of us, had his
issues and shortcomings.

But at the end of the day,
Don Lewis was a real person

with a beating heart
and deserved to live out

the rest of his days,

no matter how badly
someone didn't like him

or the businesses he
involved himself with.

Because of the tone and reception

of certain documentaries
made since Don disappeared,

it is hard to get people to focus

on finding answers rather
than supporting the nonsense.

So it is up to all of us to work

to progress above the overly
dramatized conspiracy theories

looking to shock viewers and
readers to earn quick money,

and humanize Jack Donald
Lewis and respect his case.

If you or anyone has any information

that could aid investigators
in their search

for Jack Donald Lewis,

please reach out to
the proper authorities.

No piece of information is
too small or insignificant,

for it could be the key to
unlocking the chilling mystery

of Don Lewis and his legacy
left at Wildlife on Easy Street.

This is "Cold Case Detective."

(dramatic music)