Pilot: ‘By the time you get this, I'll be gone.'

Investigators and federal marshals are forging on in their search for an Indiana businessman they believe may have faked an in-flight emergency before parachuting from his plane Sunday evening.

Marcus Schrenker, 38, left his home airport in Anderson, Ind., about 6:15 Sunday evening and by 9:15, his small plane had crashed in Milton. After hours of searching through swampy areas near Blackwater River, rescuers learned Schrenker may have secretly parachuted from his Piper Malibu and landed in Childersburg, Ala. unharmed.

It was there that he approached a police officer and showed him his Indiana driver's license, claiming to have been in a canoe accident. The officer drove him to a hotel in Harpersville where paid in cash and later ran into the woods wearing a black ski cap.

The plane traveled about 200 miles on autopilot before crashing into a swampy, wooded area along the Blackwater River.

Authorities are trying to determine if Schrenker tried to fake his death after his wife filed for a divorce and he'd lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in court cases that targeted his three investment companies.

An Indiana neighbor to Schrenker approached investigators with an e-mail he claims came from the missing pilot on Monday.

Schrenker wrote to Tom Britt that the situation was a misunderstanding and that he had jumped from the plane because of hypoxia after the windshield imploded and the plane's cabin lost pressure.

Schrenker said in the e-mail, "By the time you get this, I'll be gone."

Britt also quoted Schrenker as saying, "I embarrassed my family for the last time.'" Britt fears it is a suicide note.

But if the jump from the plane was truly an accident as Schrenker claimed in the e-mail, lawmen will certainly want to know how he came to have a red Yamaha motorcycle with a packed saddlebag in a storage unit only a few miles away from where he hitched a ride from police in Childersburg, Ala.

Marty Keely, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Alabama, told The Birmingham News that Schrenker paid cash for a storage unit to house the motorcycle on Saturday. Schrenker told the manager he'd be back for his things on Monday.

The U.S. Marshals have been tight-lipped about where they are searching for Schrenker. However, he could face several charges if he abandoned his plane without an emergency.

"People could have been seriously hurt," said Lt. Scott Haines, Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office spokesperson.

Schrenker fancied himself a experienced recreational and stunt pilot and even posted a video on YouTube of himself flying underneath a bridge in the Bahamas. His YouTube site claims he had more than 10,000 hours logged in the air.

Schrenker's flight plan for Sunday showed his arrival airport as Destin. Public records revealed his mother has a home in Baytowne Wharf, part of the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort.

A call from the Daily News to Clyda Schrenker at her resort home has not been returned.

A representative at Miracle Strip Aviation said Sunday night would have not been the first time Schreckner flew into Destin. He purchased fuel for his plane there twice in early 2007 and three times in 2008. The last time Schreckner bought fuel for his aircraft in Destin was Dec.6, according to Miracle Strip Aviation's records. All of those purchases were for a plane with the same tail number.

The Miracle Strip Aviation representative said no one who works there really knows anything about Schreckner, and added the only reason they know who he is now is from what they are reading in newspapers and watching on television.

Although he enjoyed a luxury lifestyle, complete with multiple aircraft and a $4-million dollar home, Schrenker is facing several legal and financial issues. Two days before the crash, he lost a half-million dollar judgment against his company, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. The lawsuit by OM Financial Life Insurance Co. charged that Heritage Wealth Management should return commissions because of problems with insurance and annuity plans they sold.

Creative Marketing International Corp. has also filed a suit against Schrenker and Heritage Wealth Management Inc. for a breach of contract and Schrenker is due in court for a pending divorce on Feb. 5, according to federal and county court dockets.

His home was even searched by law enforcement officers on Dec. 31 who were looking for computers, notes, photos and other information related to his companies, Heritage Wealth Management Inc., Heritage Insurance Services Inc. and Icon Wealth Management. Schrenker was under investigation for possible securities violations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.