Unseen photos of Carole Baskin’s missing husband & private notes about his disappearance found in storage unit
NEVER-before-seen photos of Carole Baskin’s missing husband and private notes about his disappearance have been discovered in a mystery storage container, The Sun can exclusively reveal.
Gabrielle Dyer, who was living with her husband Robert in Georgia before the couple recently relocated to South Carolina, bought the unit for just $60 in a Storage Wars-style auction, not knowing its contents.
The pair drove down to Tampa, Florida and had just 48 hours to clear out the space, which is believed to have belonged to Don Lewis’s daughter, Lynda, with boxes crammed full of keepsakes for Tiger King fans.
Property investor Don, who ran Wildlife on Easy Street with wife Carole, mysteriously disappeared back in 1997 and was declared legally dead by a court in 2002.
Mom-of-two Gabrielle told The Sun: “We used a website called Storage Treasures, we didn’t get the one we wanted but we got this one.
“We had no idea what was in it and not long to clear it all out.
“When I saw the name Don Lewis I was like … that sounds really familiar.
“I saw Tiger King on Netflix, but only because it was the last thing I hadn’t watched. I fell asleep but my husband stayed up late watching it.
“After going through the boxes, I was like, ‘Hey honey, who’s Don Lewis?’ I looked him up and we couldn’t believe it.”
Items from the unit include magazine and newspaper cuttings featuring coverage of Don’s disappearance in 1997 with his daughter allegedly labelling them, ‘The story of my Dad’.
One features a yellow post-it note which reads: “The weekend he disappeared he told his secretary he was going home to ask Carol for a divorce and was never seen again [sic].”
Carole has vehemently denied all claims she was involved and no charges have been brought against her, although Tiger King fans have peddled the theory she murdered him.
Another article references Carole accusing her stepchildren of conspiring with Don’s personal assistant to control more of his wealth than he wanted them to have, with the message “This is bs” written alongside it.
Other items in Gabrielle’s haul include a letter to Don’s daughters, Donna, Lynda and Gale, allegedly from Carole herself amid their bitter battle over their inheritance.
The letter is branded with the former name of her sanctuary in Florida – Wildlife on Easy Street – which is now Big Cat Rescue.
It reads: “There is a way to limit our exposure. I believe that you have seen that I will deal fairly with you. You have been good to me for the past couple of years.
“I think most of the distrust between us initially was fueled by those who were filling your heads with lies about me.
“I had no part in your father’s disappearance and will always love him dearly.
“I was the one trying to get help for him but those who would take advantage of him, in his weakened mental state, kept it from him.”
Carole adds in the letter: “I understand that you did not know all of the facts and that you were in shock as much as I was at the time.”
Talking about her find, Gabrielle continued: “There are so many articles [from newspapers], court documents and letters, artwork by his grandkids and a photo book of him feeding animals which is really cute.
“There was so much to go through and on each one of the articles, [it appears that] his daughter has written what she thought about his disappearance, kind of like a scrapbook.
“I joined a Tiger King Facebook group and posted what I found. I’m like, ‘What do I do with it?’
“Some people didn’t believe me, so I started sharing photos and that’s when a ton of people started reaching out, including the Lewis family spokesperson, TV networks like Discovery ID and Netflix.”
Asked for her opinion of what she thinks happened to Don, Gabrielle 26, told The Sun: “I don’t know, it wouldn’t surprise me if she fed him to the tigers. It’s a wild story, but I don’t think anyone just disappears like that.”
The pregnant mom feels Joe Exotic, who is currently serving 22 years in prison for plotting to kill activist Carole, is innocent and should be pardoned by Donald Trump.
“Having watched the show and how Carole is, I think she should be the one in jail,” she said.
The animal activist is still at war with Don’s children who believe she was involved in his disappearance.
Carole is set to be questioned extensively under oath about Don’s disappearance by lawyers as part of the Lewis family’s lawsuit against her, according to an independent investigator on the case.
They also sued her for defamation earlier this year, claiming she was “complicit with jokes” about her former husband’s death while competing on Dancing With the Stars.
Don disappeared a day before a scheduled trip to Costa Rica, and was declared legally dead in 2002.
The former couple, who started an animal sanctuary together in Tampa, Florida, were married at the time of his disappearance.
Records confirm he had filed for a restraining order against her two months earlier, with others alleging Lewis told them: “I fear for my life.”
A court had denied the request for the restraining order.
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Carole has always denied any suggestion she was involved or has any knowledge of Don’s disappearance.
The Sun has reached out to Carole Baskin and Lynda Lewis for comment.