A bizarre story is unfolding in Harpersville that centers around an Indiana man who authorities say took desperate steps to avoid federal charges.
Police say 38 year-old Marc Schrenker was flying his private plane to Florida when he reported his windshield had imploded and that he was bleeding severely.
After supposedly putting the plane on autopilot, Schrenker parachuted and landed near the Childersburg area. He allegedly told an officer that he'd been in a canoeing accident and needed a place to stay. Officials then brought him to Harpersville Motel shortly before 10:00 Sunday night.
The suspect, wearing a large back pack, checked in under the name, Jason Galoozis - a name different from the one he was later identified as.
The hotel manager says he directed the suspect to Room 114 after he asked to take a shower. Within minutes of entering the room, surveillance video shows the suspect fleeing the premises.
After hearing about a plane crash near Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, Childersburg Police contacted the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office in Florida after hearing about the small plane crash, soon discovering that the description of the missing pilot affiliated with that crash matched the same male they dropped off at the Harpersville Motel.
Officials then rushed back to the scene only to find that the suspect had escaped. Witnesses say he fled into a near-by woody area, and has not been seen since.
If you have any information regarding the case, you're asked to call Childersburg Police.
