48 Hours investigates the death of Survivor star Joe Hunter's sister Joanna – Details explored

Survivor season 48 alum Joe Hunter is finally speaking out on his sister Joanna Hunter’s sudden death in a new episode of 48 Hours. 

The December 13, 2025, episode of 48 Hours, titled Joe Hunter’s Mission, will document correspondent Natalie Morales recounting the story of Joanna, her untimely death, and Joe’s suspicion that his sister was murdered amid her fractured relationship with her husband, Mark Lewis.

Joe was one of the contestants on season 48 of Survivor, reaching the final three and finishing in third place overall, while Kyle Fraser was voted the winner.

During his time on the show, he spoke about his sister, as he told the cameras that he had participated in the show to honor Joanna’s tragic passing. 

In a February interview with Parade, Joe shared that he lost his sister “to domestic violence” before noting that she wanted the two of them to participate in the CBS show. 

However, their plans remained unfulfilled as Joanna passed away on October 6, 2011, according to a clip shown on CBS Mornings ahead of the 48 Hours episode.

After honoring her sister on Survivor, Joe will now appear on 48 Hours to dive deep into her case, which was ruled a suicide, but he firmly believes that “Mark killed my sister.”

More details on Survivor star Joe Hunter’s sister and her sudden death

In the sneak peek of the December 13 episode of 48 Hours, Joe was heard confessing that his sister, Joanna, was his biggest “motivation” when he signed up for Survivor. 

“She’s the one that wanted to be here. That’s why I play. I wanted to be Joanna’s voice,” he said.

The Survivor star added that his “mission” was to honor his sister and that his entire journey on the competition show had been a testament to that. 

Joanna was older than Joe and the first child of Patricia Hunter and Joseph Hunter Jr. She was born on October 27, 1974, according to the Center for Family Justice, which meant that she was 36 when she passed away. 

Joanna was declared dead on October 6 by the Solano County Sheriff’s Department. In the sneak peek of the upcoming episode, it was alleged that the Sheriff’s Department ruled Joanna’s death a suicide within 28 minutes of arriving at the scene. 

However, the law enforcement officials dismissed the allegation, saying it was a “misconception.” But even so, Joe and his family refused to believe that Joanna had died by suicide. 

In the video, Joe said:

“I know in my heart that Mark killed my sister, and then he staged it to look like she hung herself.”

In the penultimate episode of Survivor 48, Joe spoke out to his late sister, apologizing to her for everything, primarily for not being able to protect her “from that monster.”

The episode will investigate both Joanna and Mark’s backgrounds as well as the circumstances surrounding her death to figure out what actually happened. 

As for Mark, he is a former pastor who called 911 to report Joanna’s death. In the episode, Natalie will look into Mark’s relationship with Joanna and whether his past with domestic violence had a role to play in Joanna’s death.

While Mark has never been tried or accused of anything in Joanna’s case, he still holds a criminal record. 

Three years after Joanna’s passing, he hired people to throw a Molotov cocktail into the residence of his ex-partner, for which he was sentenced to eight years in jail. 

48 Hours will investigate the mysteries of Joanna’s death, and also focus on Survivor star Joe’s relationship with her, while Joe is set to return for season 50 of the CBS show.

Stay tuned for more updates.