Lydia Daniels says the publicity around the Marlborough Hotel in Winnipeg has brought back a wave of emotions.
In 2014, her son, Colten Pratt, 26, was last seen at the hotel.
“It triggered me, it brought me back to that first few days where he went missing,” she said. “It’s been pretty tough. The last thing I said to him was ‘I’m worried about you, be careful.’ He said ‘I know mum.'”
Pratt hasn’t been seen since. In 2021, Winnipeg police renewed their call for anyone who may have information about his Nov. 6, 2014 disappearance to come forward.
Pratt is five feet, 10 inches tall and approximately 160 lbs. Police said he had short brown hair and eyes and was last seen wearing a brown jacket and blue jeans according to media reports.
Video at hotel
Daniel’s anxiety about her son was triggered after a video was taken of a First Nations woman at the hotel who had her hands tied behind her back.
Hotel staff and police said it was because she was brandishing a knife.
Following the Dec. 25 events that was caught on camera, the woman has been charged with assault with a weapon. She also faces the same charges from an incident that happened in September 2023.
The video and hotel’s history sparked a lot of anger and tension between the hotel and Indigenous community.
In 2013, two men were charged for operating a brothel out of two Winnipeg hotels. One of which were the Malborough
APTN watched as an angry passerby kicked the front doors of the hotel.
The current staff said they’re getting death threats and the hotel is temporarily closed.
“This is extremely unsettling to our staff and management who fear for their safety,” said Marlborough general manager, Rakib Hoque in a written statement. :To protect everyone, this is largely why we took the extraordinary step yesterday of temporarily closing the hotel as police continue to investigate.”
