Police Arrest Man Suspected Of Faking Own Death in Crash

Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Author: Associated Press

Authorities in northern Florida arrested an Indiana businessman on Tuesday night who is suspected of having tried to fake his own death in a plane crash.

Marcus Schrenker, 38, was taken into custody at a campground in Chattahoochee, Fla., according to Lt. Jim Corder of the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office.

Police found Schrenker after he allegedly e-mailed a family member from the campground office.

Broadcast reports said Schrenker was being treated at a local hospital for slices to his wrist, none of which were considered life threatening.

Schrenker had been missing since Sunday, when he flew from Anderson, Ind., bound for Destin, Fla. Southwest of Birmingham, Ala., he radioed that his plane's windshield had imploded and that his face was covered with blood.

Authorities said they think Schrenker then bailed out of the Piper Turboprop, parachuting to the ground and speeding away on a motorcycle he had stashed away in the pine barrens of central Alabama. Military jets tried to intercept the plane and found the door open, the cockpit dark. The plane crashed in the Florida Panhandle after traveling more than 200 miles on autopilot.

Authorities suspect Schrenker, president of a wealth management company, was trying to escape legal and financial troubles, including allegations of fraud. Schrenker's wife also had filed for divorce, alleging that he was having an affair.