Dogs smell human remains at Tiger King star Carole Baskin’s missing husband’s lake house
Tiger King star Carole Baskin’s first husband Don Lewis went missing in 1997 and Joe Exotic accused Baskin of killing Lewis – which she firmly denies
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The scent of human remains near Tiger King star Carole Baskin’s missing husband’s lake house have been detected by dogs, reports claim.
The special cadavar pups’ discovery is set to be revealed in a new documentary named Tigers, Lies And Cover Ups airing Sunday on Investigation Discovery (ID), according to The Sun.
Cadaver dogs – that are trained to detect human remains – allegedly picked up a scent of remains just meters from Carole’s ex-husband Don Lewis’ lake house in Brandon, Florida detective Jim Rathmann told the publication.
He said: “Cadaver dogs can detect human remains 20 feet below water and the fact we have her alerting on the same spot was extremely exciting.
“But after 23 years whatever is in there is covered in mud, makes a search, there is zero visibility and there’s alligators there.
“We are not going to find a body, but if Don, hypothetically, had gone through a meat grinder we are looking for soft bone fragments, clothing or maybe a tooth. Best case scenario is you find a tooth or bone that you extract DNA from.”
The highly-trained animal allegedly located a hit spot meters from the back of Don’s property but when detectives and divers searched the area they did not discover anything due to poor conditions.
In 1997 millionaire Don Lewis – who was married to Carole – went missing after leaving his home in Tampa, Florida on 18 August.
Lewis was declared dead in 2002 but his remains have never been found.
Local police had reopened the case into Lewis’ disappearance in June after the release of the hit docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness on Netflix earlier this year.
In the popular series, Baskin’s longtime rival and exotic animal keeper Joe Exotic accused Baskin of killing Lewis, an accusation which she firmly denies.
In August Lewis’ three daughters held a press conference with attorney John Phillips where they announced a fresh search for answers surrounding Don’s disappearance.
They also announced a $100,000 (£76,500) reward for information on what happened to Lewis.
Four billboards have now been erected around Tampa advertising the cash reward for information on what happened to Lewis.
Tip-offs have been arriving from cold case groups on Facebook, which have been described as “promising leads”.
“We’re going to serve (Baskin) with a lawsuit, but not a lawsuit for damages, it’s a lawsuit for equity,” revealed Phillips at the press event.
This suggests that depositions and subpoenas could possibly on the cards for Baskin.
“Generally you announce a $150 million lawsuit and how we’re going to get justice and we are going to do all of that in time,” Phillips added. “But our office wants to invite reason, to invite civil conversation where it can be had.'”
Phillips invited Baskin to join with Lewis’ family to find answers about his fate, but they will take different avenues if she chooses not to.
“I will ask one time, for civility. I will ask one time that we come together to find closure of this whole thing,” said the lawyer. “If that can’t be done, I’m a lawyer, I sue people. We’ll go that route too.”
He noted: “Make no mistake, if the family’s offer for civility is rejected, if the insults continue, the next step is to bring justice, because justice is love.”
They will also focus their efforts on getting answers from Don’s old handyman Kenny Farr and Susan A. Bradshaw, who is said to have witnessed the signing of Lewis’ will.
Lewis’ daughters raised the money for the reward, but recently received a large donation from an anonymous patron.
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