"We're going to miss him": Sister remembers brother found dead with gunshot wound in Sacramento fire
SACRAMENTO — The sister of the man found dead with a gunshot wound as Sacramento crews extinguished a house fire early Thursday morning said he was a consummate brother, a trucker and a Marine veteran.
The scene was at a house on Del Norte Boulevard. Officials said it was a hoarder house which made firefighters' jobs difficult, but what they found inside was tragic. Mike Plog, 66 was pronounced dead at the scene with a gunshot wound after being found by first responders in a hallway.
A homicide investigation has been opened up and Plog's family hopes for a resolution.
"He had piercing blue eyes and would give you the shirt off his back," sister Sheila Johnson said.
Johnson told CBS13 about her brother's love for animals in need.
"He'd see a dog that needed attention, he'd pick them up and take them home," she said. "And one year, we got the pick of the litter and we had Ruby for many many years."
Neighbors told CBS13 about a quiet man who kept to himself and his property. But crews were dispatched to his home Thursday morning and found his body.
"This was deputies, like I said, conducting routine patrols like they normally would around 4 a.m. and seeing a structure fire and taking action," said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a spokesperson for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
The fire is believed to have originated outside the home and the gunshot wound has left family members to wonder why.
"[I'll] say some Our Fathers and Hail Marys," Johnson said. "Hopefully his mother is greeting him."
This will be a two-pronged investigation with fire on one end and the sheriff's office on the other.
"It's not common by any stretch but it's not out of the realm of imagination," Gandhi said. "This kind of stuff does happen."
While family members say Plog wasn't the type of guy to want a funeral, they say they will make sure to prepare one and hope for closure in the meantime.
Johnson added that her brother "was always there for the family reunions. He'd always bring carloads of food. He'd always share with everybody. [He] was always willing to share with everybody."
"We're going to miss him. We can't believe this has happened. It's just, what is going on? What has happened today?" she said.