Harpersville, Ala. - A runaway Indiana pilot who apparently made a dangerous attempt to fake his own death had rented a storage unit in Harpersville, just one day before his elaborate plot unfolded.

Harpersville Police Chief David Latimer told ABC 33/40 Marcus Schrenker, 38, was seen in Harpersville Saturday.  Latimer said Schrenker used a false name and paid cash when he rented the storage unit.

Schrenker stored a red motorcycle in the unit, Latimer said.  When authorities learned of the unit and searched it late Monday afternoon, they found the unit was left unlocked, and the motorcycle was gone.

Police also found clothes Schrenker apparently left in a dumpster near the mini storage property.

"The clothes in the dumpster appear to match the clothes he was wearing in surveillance video," Latimer said.

Security cameras recorded images of Schrenker as he checked into the Harpersville Motel Sunday evening, not long after he had apparently parachuted out of his plane near the Shelby-Talladega County line.  He used a false name at the motel, signing in as Jason Galoozis and listing an address in suburban Chicago, Illinois.

A phone number traced to that address in Bolingbrook, Illinois, was not receiving calls Monday.

Authorities said before jumping out of his plane Sunday evening, Schrenker had made an apparently phony distress call.  He was flying from Anderson, Indiana, to Destin, Florida, and reported turbulence over northern Alabama, saying his windshield had imploded, and he was severely cut.

Military jets tried to intercept the plane after Schrenker stopped responding on his aircraft's radio.  Officers noticed the plane's door was open, and the aircraft was unmanned.  It flew on autopilot until it crashed near an upscale subdivision in northwest Florida.

Schrenker, meanwhile, had made his escape by apparently parachuting onto land owned by Richard Ferguson of Talladega County.  Ferguson said Schrenker told him he had been in a canoe accident.

"He just told me that him and two of his buddies was canoeing and turned the canoe over on the Coosa River," Ferguson said.  "It was just sort of weird, you know, because I live so far back in there, don't nobody show up.  So I figured he was up to no good."

Ferguson gave Schrenker a ride to a nearby gas station, where Schrenker was met by Childersburg Police officers.  Posing as Jason Galoozis, and using a false ID, Schrenker repeated his story of the canoe crash to the officers.

Childersburg Police Captain Shane Burnette said officers checked to see if the man had any outstanding warrants.  But since the man was using a false name, no active warrants showed up, and police agreed to give him a ride to nearby Harpersville.

Harpersville Police then picked up the man from Childersburg officers and took him to the Harpersville Motel.  Security footage revealed that moments after police left the motel, Schrenker fled the property.

As of Monday night, Schrenker had not been seen since leaving the motel.  He had become the focus of an interstate manhunt involving several local and federal agencies.

Documents show Schrenker's professional and personal life had been falling apart in the weeks leading up to his escape.  One of his financial management companies had lost a half-million-dollar judgment in a recent lawsuit.  Also, his wife had filed for divorce.

A law enforcement source told ABC 33/40 Schrenker was the focus of investigations in both Indiana and Michigan.

Jim Gavin, a spokesman for Indiana's secretary of state, told the Associated Press investigators were looking into potential securities violations.  Officers searched Schrenker's home on New Year's Eve, looking for computers, pictures, notes, and other documents, the Associated Press reported.

The previous day, Schrenker's wife, Michelle, had filed for divorce.

Schrenker was known as an aerobatic pilot, trained to pull off various maneuvers and stunts.  Video on YouTube showed Schrenker at an airport in the Bahamas during a flight in 2000.

U.S. Marshals and the FBI (web) were among agencies looking for Schrenker Monday, unsure of where he went after apparently leaving Harpersville on the red motorcycle.

Local authorities in Childersburg were set to review additional evidence that turned up Monday: Schrenker's pilot's goggles, a bag of food, and an Indiana State University graduation announcement dated from 1998 and listing the name Jason Galoozis.  Schrenker had left the items in Ferguson's truck after getting the ride to the gas station Sunday night.

 Email To Friend