Family of Carole Baskin's missing ex-husband offers up reward

The former stepdaughters of Tiger King star Carole Baskin are offering up a $100,000 (£76,500) reward for information regarding their millionaire father's disappearance 23 years ago.

Don Lewis went missing on 18 August, 1997 after leaving the Tampa, Florida home he shared with animal rights activist Baskin, with whom he co-founded the state's Big Cat Rescue facility. His remains were never found, but in 2002, he was declared legally dead.

On Monday, Lewis' three daughters held a press conference with attorney John Phillips and family representative Jack Smith to announce a new search for the truth.

They have had four billboards erected around Tampa offering up the cash reward in exchange for key information about his disappearance, while promising leads are said to have been received from members of a cold case group on Facebook. Philips has also filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family against Baskin in an attempt to get her to speak on the record.

The circumstances surrounding Lewis' demise became a hot topic earlier this year following the launch of hit Netflix docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, which, in part, explored rumours suggesting Baskin was involved with Lewis' disappearance.

On the show, Baskin's rival, former Oklahoma zoo owner Joe Exotic, accused her of killing Lewis and feeding him to her tigers - allegations she firmly denies, but the interest in the cold case prompted local police to reopen their investigation in June in the hopes that fans of the series would provide them with new leads.

According to TMZ, authorities have also been given a tip-off about the location of Lewis' burial from an anonymous note originally sent to Exotic's husband, Jeff Lowe.