ALABAMA – A failed financial adviser who faked his death by making a Mayday call from his light aircraft, then bailing out, leaving it to crash was being hunted by US police yesterday.
Marcus Schrenker, who ran a string of businesses, apparently secretly parachuted to safety near Birmingham, Alabama. His single-engined aircraft continued flying on autopilot and eventually crashed late on Sunday more than 320km (200 miles) away in a swampy area of Florida.
In the weeks before the crash, Schrenker’s life was spiralling downward: he lost a half-million-dollar judgment against one of his companies when he skipped a court hearing. His wife filed for divorce, and investigators probing his businesses for possible securities violations searched his home and office.
Authorities believe Schrenker was last seen on Monday in Alabama when a man using his driver’s licence told police that he’d been in a canoe accident. He was wet only from the knees down and had what appeared to be flying goggles. The investigation into the crash began on Sunday night when Schrenker’s Piper Malibu crashed. The aircraft was en route from Anderson, Indiana, to the Florida Panhandle city of Destin when Schrenker reported turbulence. He said the windscreen had imploded and he was bleeding profusely.
After he stopped responding to air traffic controllers, military jets tried to intercept the aircraft. They noticed the door was open and the cockpit was dark and continued to follow it until it crashed in a stream surrounded by homes.
But when investigators found the aircraft, its door was ajar and the wreckage showed no signs of blood or the blown windscreen.
The case grew stranger yesterday when the man with Schrenker’s licence told police in Childersburg – about 362km (225 miles) from where the aircraft crashed – that he had been in a canoe accident with friends.
The officers, unaware of the aircraft crash, took him to a hotel. He was gone by the time they returned. – (AP)