Police and firefighters are still searching for Mike Draeger, caretaker of the downtown Victoria Plaza Hotel that went up in flames on Monday, May 6th.
The caretaker of the former hotel, Mike Draeger, remains missing as of Friday evening – 5 days after flames engulfed the abandoned Plaza Hotel at the intersection of Government and Pandora.
See also: One man remains unaccounted for after fire at vacant hotel in downtown Victoria
Authorities have been unable to determine whether or not Draeger was inside the building when the fire broke out.
As City Hall finally reopens after 4 days of closure due to smoke, police continue their search for Draeger and are still unable to provide a photograph or any descriptors of him.
“He was a pretty private person”
According to Draeger’s former coworker Wayne Kalnciems, the caretaker was approximately 60 years old, weighed between 180 and 200 lbs, 6 feet tall, and had short grey hair.
His wardrobe also mainly consisted of jeans, t-shirts, and runners.
“He pretty much kept to himself a lot of the time. I wouldn’t say he didn’t have any friends but he was a pretty private person,” Kalnciems told Victoria Buzz.
Mike Draeger was a maintenance worker/handyman at the century old establishment, and once the bar shut down in 2013, he assumed the role of caretaker.
A trailer that reportedly belonged to him was located behind the building, and a van was parked out front, but there were no signs of anyone being in those vehicles.
Firefighters have also checked every room they could enter inside the unstable structure but have found no signs of Draeger.
A crowd of onlookers observe as @VictoriaFire730 crews battle major fire at the old Plaza Hotel on Goverment and Pandora. The fire broke out at approximately 5am this morning and the @CityOfVictoria has since issued an air quality warning due to smoke #yyj #yyjnews pic.twitter.com/pMusulHk8q
— Brishti Basu (@brish_ti) May 6, 2019
Businesses remain shut
City Hall has fully reopened on Friday, and the west sidewalk of Government Street between Johnson and Pandora was cleared for pedestrian use on Thursday.
However several businesses in the area remain closed due to smoke damage, such as Cherry Bomb Toys.
Staff at Victoria’s Virgin Radio station are also currently working out of the Empress Hotel while their building gets their ducts cleaned out.
There is no time estimate on when they will be able to return to their office.
