Missing pilot seen alive after crash

MILTON, Fla. (WALA/WISH) - A missing pilot from Anderson, Indiana has been spotted alive in Alabama after his plane crashed in Florida Sunday night.

According to the FBI, the pilot was spotted alive near Harpersville, Alabama after parachuting from his plane overnight.

Police are still looking for the pilot, 38-year-old Marc Schrenker. After parachuting out of his plane over Harpersville, Alabama, he contacted an officer at a store in Childersburg and said that he had been in a canoeing accident with some friends. The officer identified Schrenker by means of an Indiana Drivers License. Officers in that jurisdiction were unaware of the plane crash incident at that time and took the subject to a nearby hotel in Harpersville.

After hearing about the airplane crash, Childersburg Police Department contacted Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office deputies and confirmed that Schrenker was taken to a hotel in Harpersville. Schrenker checked into the hotel under a fictitious name. When authorities entered Schrenker's room he was not there. Investigators say, after Schrenker paid for his room with cash, he put on a black toboggan cap and ran into the woods located next to the hotel. Authorities are continuing to look for Schrenker.

Schrenker's 6 seater plane went down late Sunday night in a marshy area of East Milton. Schrenker had radioed in a distress call before losing communication with air traffic controllers. Military jets were called in to help. The pilots saw the plane as it went down.

The plane was a single engine, 6 seater Piper PA46.  The crash was reported at 9:15 p.m.

The wreckage of the plane was found about 100 yards behind a residence on Lakeside Drive in East Milton.  The plane crashed into a wooded, swampy area.

A search for Schrenker began immediately. Helicopters, other aircraft, boats, and dogs were all used in the Florida search, but results came up empty.

The plane was en route from Anderson, Indiana to Destin, Florida.

Schrenker radioed for help near Birmingham, Alabama. His distress call said his windshield had imploded and he had severe bleeding.

Air Traffic Controllers in Atlanta tried to radio the pilot to land at the Pell City Airport, but they could not get him to respond. 

Military Jets from Whiting Field were launched to intercept the plane.  The Jets caught up to the plane, but the pilots say the door to the plane was open and the cockpit was dark.  They could not see Schrenker, nor could they reach him by radio.  The Military stayed with the plane until it crashed  one mile north of Peter Prince Airport in Milton.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are expected in Milton Monday to investigate.