Missing Pilot Found Alive, But He’s Missing Again

Florida Alabama Police say Marcus Schrenker intentionally abandoned the plane putting it on auto pilot and safely parachuting to the ground.

by WKRG Staff

Published: Mon, January 12, 2009 - 11:56 am CST Last Updated: Mon, January 12, 2009 - 6:18 pm CST

6:13 p.m.

- Marcus Schrenker has a 4 million dollar home that was recently searched by Indiana State Police.
- Schrenker’s company, Icon Wealth Management (formally Heritage Wealth Management), was being served federal warrants for securities fraud.
- Schrenker also has a home in Destin, Florida

4:48 p.m.
- Video of Marcus Schrenker flying a stunt plane in the Bahamas. The video was recently posted on YouTube.

2:49 p.m.
- Despite initial reports, police now say they can't confirm whether Schrenker has been caught.

1:15 p.m.
- Marcus Schrenker is in police custody. More details soon.

11:56 a.m.
The pilot of a plane that crashed near Milton has been found alive. But there's a problem. Police no longer know where he is.

Police say Marcus Schrenker intentionally abandoned his plane, put it on auto pilot over Birmingham and safely parachuted to the ground.

According to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office, Schrenker walked up a police officer at a store in Childersburg and said that he had been in a canoeing accident. The officer says Schrenker was wet from the knee down, but was not injured. Unaware of the plane crash in the Florida panhandle, the officer took Schrenker to a hotel in nearby Harpersville.

When they heard about the plane crash, Childersburg police went back to the hotel. Schrenker checked in using a fake name and paid with cash. When police checked his room, he was already gone.

Police believe Schrenker put on a black toboggan and ran into the woods. A massive manhunt is underway.

The saga began Sunday night when Schrenker contacted the FAA saying his windshield imploded about 35 miles southwest of Birmingham and that he was severely bleeding.

Schrenker was on his way from Anderson, Indiana to Destin, Florida. The FAA tried to divert Schrenker to Pell City, Alabama, but he never responded.

The military launched jets to intercept the plane. When they spotted it 12 miles north of NAS Whiting Field in Santa Rosa County, the door of the Piper PA-46 open and the cockpit was dark. They followed the plane until it crashed in a swampy wooded area near Lakeside Drive and lakeside Court in Milton.

The FAA and NTSB has arrived at the crash site and is now investigating.

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jpcessna Says:

Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 4:44 pm

Building on some of the points already made…

As a pilot, I can tell you that distress signals are taken very seriously by the entire piloting community. Some pilots have ended up crashing for fear of ‘overstating’ their crisis by declaring an emergency. So to have a pilot falsify a report, put resources in the air needlessly, and on top of all that, allow his aircraft to fly at 2000 feet indiscrimately, then crash…is MIND BOGGLING. I am sure all pilots find this behavior extremely troubling. I am just thankful no one was killed. Truly unbelievable. A new low.

mustuknow Says:

Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 4:20 pm

This guy is really a piece of work. I cannot imagine how cold and calous a person must be to abandon a plane in midair with no regards for where it landed, who it injured or killed, etc. Further, can you imagine what the military pilots must have been thinking when they intercepted this plane and the door is open and the cockpit is dark and it begins going down in a residential neighborhood and there was nothing they could do to change what was happening…..

I would love to hear the pilots conversations over the radio from the time the intercepted this plane until it started going down nearly missing peoples homes…..

I hope that they find this guy and I hope there is someway to charge him with attempted manslaughter or wreckless endangerment….

One last note, I sincerely hope that this man has some time to reflect on the worry and anguish he has caused his family, his parents, etc.

myopinion Says:

Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 3:23 pm

Where in the world is Waldo? The police can’t confirm? For crying out loud.

northcountygirl Says:

Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 3:13 pm

Gone again?

claycitymadness Says:

Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 3:10 pm

it sounds like it very nearly did crash into someones house. a thousand yards away is a small margin of error if he jumped around birmingham. this ones gonna be interesting.

Razorsharp Says:

Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 2:56 pm

Maybe he thought he could pull off a D.B. Cooper… LOL

myopinion Says:

Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 2:33 pm

This will be an interesting story to follow. And his father (or step-father) being laid to rest a couple days before this….hmmm. Why would he do this and leave his wife and kids? Where was he going to run off to?

YELLOWCHEVYGAL82 Says:

Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 2:27 pm

a toboggan is what we call a sock hat or a beanie..

northcountygirl Says:

Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 1:38 pm

Thank God his plane did not crash into someone’s home.

hogpilot Says:

Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 1:21 pm

This guy is a crook from years past and has been involved in numerous criminal schemes. Looks like it has finally caught up to him. When all this unfolds he will be found to have scammed many more people. I always thought he’d get his. Looks like he was trying to crash his plane in the Gulf and get lost somewhere else in the world. I’d be looking closely at his financial accouns to see if they are still there. He’s a Madoff understudy.

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