Former Red Deerian and popular DJ missing

Massive search conducted yesterday

MISSING – Mike Grefner

MISSING – Mike Grefner

It has been over a week since anyone has seen or heard from Mike Grefner, 34. The popular DJ, originally from Red Deer and a graduate of Camille J. Lerouge High School, has called Whistler, B.C. home for the last five or six years.

He disappeared from the ski-resort village after a night out on Jan. 16th and was last seen Jan. 17th at a restaurant in Pemberton, B.C. Since then the Whistler RCMP have launched a missing persons investigation. And friends of Grefner have blitzed the popular social-media site facebook in hopes of finding him.

“We are coming to a lot of dead ends,” said Katherine Grefner, Mike’s older sister. “We are trying to look into all of our options both conventional and unconventional. Mike has never done anything like this before – he’s never just disappeared.”

Katherine, who resides in Langley, B.C., said her mother, Nancy and sister Maggie flew from Red Deer to B.C. last week to search for Mike.

“It’s been snowing so much in the Whistler area that it’s made the search tough,” said Katherine. “We are hoping we can get an aerial search done.”

According to a facebook page dedicated to helping find Mike, Mike went to a local bar called Garfinkel’s in Whistler around midnight on Monday Jan. 16th. Between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5:15 a.m. on Jan. 17th Mike called a number of friends.

Between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Jan 17th a waitress at a restaurant in Pemberton, B.C. reported seeing Mike with a woman. He has not been seen or heard from since and his cell phone has reportedly been shut off since then as well.

“We will keep searching until we have to. I have to think he is alive and well,” said Katherine, adding the last time she saw her brother was at Christmas. “He spent the night with us on Christmas Day and was in excellent spirits.”

Mike is around 6’2” tall and 180 pounds. He has curly brown hair, green eyes, and stubbly facial hair. He was last seen wearing faded jeans with crosses stitched on the back pockets, a navy blue T-shirt and a black military-style hat.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Whistler RCMP at 604-932-3044.

efawcett@reddeerexpress.com