A Daring Escape From Alcatraz
Alcatraz Island, a formidable landmass situated in the heart of San Francisco Bay, California, stands as a stark reminder of a bygone era of maximum-security imprisonment. During its operational years, it was considered the most secure prison in the world. In its heyday, Alcatraz was the ultimate maximum-security prison. The island, often shrouded in mist and lashed by the relentless Pacific winds, earned the ominous moniker "The Rock," a testament to its imposing presence and the seemingly inescapable nature of its confines.
From its initial role as a military prison during the Civil War era, Alcatraz evolved into a federal penitentiary in 1934, marking the zenith of a nationwide crackdown on crime. This transformation involved a comprehensive re-fortification, transforming the island into what was believed to be an impenetrable fortress. Alcatraz housed some of the most notorious criminals of the 20th century, individuals who had become synonymous with danger and defiance. Among its infamous residents were the notorious gangster Al Capone, known for his ruthless reign over Chicago’s underworld, convicts with a proven track record of audacious escapes, and the eccentric "Birdman of Alcatraz," Robert Stroud, whose fascination with ornithology provided a peculiar contrast to the prison’s harsh environment.
The physical landscape of Alcatraz contributed significantly to its reputation as an escape-proof facility. Perched amidst the turbulent waters of the Pacific Ocean, the prison was perpetually battered by strong currents and bone-chilling temperatures. The formidable defenses of Alcatraz were more than just geographical. The redesign included imposing iron bars that reinforced the cell blocks, a network of strategically positioned guard towers that provided constant surveillance, and a rigid set of regulations that governed every aspect of inmate life. These rules included frequent headcounts, with prisoners subjected to as many as a dozen checks each day, further reinforcing the perception that escape was an impossibility.
Despite the overwhelming odds, the history of Alcatraz is punctuated by numerous attempts to break free from its iron grip. Between 1934, when it became a federal penitentiary, and 1963, when it was ultimately closed, a total of 36 inmates embarked on 14 separate escape attempts. The vast majority of these endeavors ended in failure, with the escapees either apprehended or perishing in the unforgiving waters surrounding the island.
However, one particular incident continues to fuel speculation and intrigue to this day: the audacious escape of three inmates in June 1962. The mystery surrounding the fate of John Anglin, Clarence Anglin, and Frank Morris remains unsolved, their disappearance adding to the enduring mystique of Alcatraz.
The morning of June 12, 1962, began as any other at Alcatraz. The guards began their routine bed check, a seemingly mundane task designed to ensure the presence of every inmate in their assigned cell. However, on this particular morning, the routine was shattered by an unsettling discovery: three convicts were missing. John Anglin, Clarence Anglin, and Frank Morris were nowhere to be found. In their beds lay meticulously crafted dummy heads, fashioned from plaster, painted with flesh-tone hues, and adorned with real human hair. These lifelike decoys had apparently deceived the night guards, buying the escapees precious time. The prison was immediately placed on lockdown, and a massive search operation was launched, both on the island and in the surrounding waters.
John and Clarence Anglin’s lives began in humble circumstances, born into a large family of 13 children in Donalsonville, Georgia. Their parents, George Robert and Rachael Van Miller Anglin, were seasonal farmworkers, moving where the work was. In the early 1940s, the family relocated to Ruskin, Florida, seeking more stable employment in the truck farms and tomato fields south of Tampa. Despite this, they still migrated north to Michigan each June to pick cherries. The brothers were reportedly inseparable during their childhood.
The Anglin brothers’ path took a turn towards criminality in 1958 when they were arrested for robbing a bank in Columbia, Alabama. Sentenced to 15-20 years, they were incarcerated at the Atlanta Penitentiary, where they first crossed paths with Frank Morris and Allen West. Subsequently, they were transferred to the Florida State Prison and then to the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas. Their attempt to escape from Leavenworth resulted in their transfer to Alcatraz, with John arriving on October 21, 1960, and Clarence following on January 10, 1961. Within a year, they began formulating a daring escape plan with Frank Morris and Allen West.
Frank Lee Morris, born in Washington, D.C., in 1926, faced a difficult start in life. Orphaned at the age of 11, he spent his formative years in foster homes. His criminal career began early, with his first conviction at the age of 13. By his late teens, he had amassed a record of arrests for offenses ranging from narcotics possession to armed robbery. Despite his troubled past, Morris possessed exceptional intelligence, scoring in the top two percent of the general population in IQ tests. He served time in Florida and Georgia before escaping from the Louisiana State Penitentiary while serving a ten-year sentence for bank robbery. Recaptured a year later during a burglary, he was sent to Alcatraz in 1960. He, along with John and Clarence Anglin, escaped in June 1962 and were never seen again. The 1962 A Daring Escape From Alcatraz remains one of the most intriguing mysteries in American penal history.
A fourth conspirator, Allen Clayton West, played a crucial role in the planning of the escape but ultimately did not participate in the actual breakout. Convicted of car theft in 1955, he was initially sent to the Atlanta Penitentiary and later transferred to the Florida State Prison. Following an unsuccessful escape attempt in Florida, he was transferred to Alcatraz in 1957. On the day of the escape, West was unable to complete the removal of the ventilator grill in his cell in time and was left behind.
The discovery of the escape triggered an immediate response from law enforcement. The FBI was notified and tasked with leading the investigation. Agents from the San Francisco office initiated a nationwide search for records pertaining to the missing prisoners and their previous escape attempts. They interviewed the men’s relatives, compiled their identification records, and enlisted the assistance of boat operators in the Bay, requesting them to be vigilant for any signs of debris. Within two days, a packet of letters sealed in rubber and related to the men was recovered. Subsequently, pieces of wood resembling paddles and fragments of rubber inner tube were found floating in the water. A homemade life vest was also discovered washed ashore on Cronkhite Beach. However, extensive searches of the area yielded no further clues.
As the investigation progressed, the FBI, the Coast Guard, the Bureau of Prison authorities, and other agencies collaborated to piece together the intricate details of the escape plan. Allen West, who had been left behind, provided valuable information to investigators, aiding them in understanding the scope and complexity of the operation.
The investigation revealed that the group had initiated their planning in December, when one of them discovered some old saw blades. Utilizing crude tools, including a homemade drill fashioned from the motor of a broken vacuum cleaner, the conspirators meticulously loosened the air vents at the back of their cells. They achieved this by drilling closely spaced holes around the cover, allowing them to remove entire sections of the wall. Once through, they concealed the holes with various items, such as suitcases and pieces of cardboard. The meticulous planning of the A Daring Escape From Alcatraz remains impressive.
Behind the cells was a common, unguarded utility corridor. They went down this corridor and climbed to the roof of their cell block inside the building, where they set up a secret workshop. There, taking turns keeping watch for the guards on the evening before the last count, they used various stolen and donated materials to build and hide what they needed to escape. The prisoners used more than 50 raincoats they stole to build makeshift life preservers and a 6×14 foot rubber raft, the seams of which were carefully stitched together and "vulcanized" by the hot steam pipes in the prison. They also built wooden paddles and converted a musical instrument into a tool to inflate the raft.
Simultaneously, the inmates were devising a means of exiting the building. The ceiling was approximately 30 feet high, but they utilized a network of pipes to climb upwards. Eventually, they managed to pry open the ventilator at the top of the shaft, temporarily securing it in place with a fake bolt made of soap.
On the evening of June 11, the escapees were prepared to execute their plan. Allen West, however, was unable to completely remove his ventilator grill and was left behind. The remaining three inmates entered the corridor, gathered their equipment, climbed through the ventilator, and gained access to the prison roof. They then descended the bakery smokestack at the rear of the cell house, scaled the fence, stealthily made their way to the island’s northeast shore, and launched their raft. The planning of A Daring Escape From Alcatraz was meticulous and resourceful.
The subsequent fate of the three escapees remains shrouded in mystery. Did they successfully navigate the treacherous waters of the Bay, reach Angel Island, and then cross Raccoon Strait into Marin County, as they had planned? Or did they succumb to the unforgiving elements, drowning in the cold, turbulent water?
Over the years, numerous individuals have attempted to prove that the men could have survived the escape. However, the fundamental question remains unanswered: did they? At the time, the FBI’s investigation concluded that their survival was highly improbable, citing several factors.
Crossing the Bay presented a significant challenge. While some individuals have successfully swum the mile-long distance from Alcatraz to Angel Island, the night of the escape was characterized by strong currents and frigid water temperatures, significantly diminishing the escapees’ chances of survival.
Furthermore, according to prison informant Allen West, the escapees’ initial plan involved stealing clothes and a car upon reaching land. However, despite the high-profile nature of the case, no thefts of this nature were reported in the vicinity.
The FBI also considered the lack of contact with family members as a significant factor. It seemed likely that the fugitives would have required assistance from external sources. However, the FBI was unable to establish any connections to individuals who could have provided support. Moreover, the prisoners’ families appeared to lack the financial resources necessary to offer substantial aid.
The absence of credible evidence over the course of the FBI’s 17-year investigation further fueled doubts about the men’s survival. No reliable information emerged to suggest that they were alive, either within the United States or in foreign countries.
The FBI officially closed its investigation on December 31, 1979, transferring responsibility for the case to the U.S. Marshals Service. The mystery surrounding the A Daring Escape From Alcatraz persists to this day.
Aftermath:
In 1993, Thomas Kent, a former Alcatraz inmate, claimed to have assisted in planning the escape and provided "significant new leads" to investigators during an appearance on the television program America’s Most Wanted. He stated that Clarence Anglin’s girlfriend had agreed to meet the men on the mainland and drive them to Mexico. Kent declined to participate in the escape himself due to his inability to swim. However, officials expressed skepticism regarding Kent’s account, as he had been paid $2,000 for the interview.
A 2003 MythBusters episode on the Discovery Channel tested the feasibility of an escape from Alcatraz using a raft constructed from the same materials and tools available to the inmates. The episode concluded that the escape was "plausible." A 2011 program on the National Geographic Channel asserted that footprints were discovered on the Angel Island beach where the raft wreckage was recovered and that, contrary to the official FBI report, a car had been stolen nearby on the night of the escape.
In 2011, Bud Morris, an 89-year-old man who claimed to be a cousin of Frank Morris, stated that he had delivered envelopes of money to Alcatraz guards on "eight or nine" occasions before the escape, presumably as bribes. He further claimed to have met his cousin face-to-face in a San Diego park shortly after the escape. His daughter, who was "eight or nine" years old at the time, corroborated the meeting, stating that she was present with "Dad’s friend, Frank," but "had no idea [about the escape]."
In 2012, on the 50th anniversary of the escape attempt, the Anglins’ two sisters and two of their nephews publicly expressed their belief that Clarence and John, who would be well into their 80s, were still alive. Marie Anglin Winder claimed that she received a phone call from San Francisco after the escape; the caller identified himself as "John Anglin." The family also presented a Christmas card, purportedly received in the family mailbox in 1962, bearing the message "To Mother, from John. Merry Christmas." Michael Dyke, a Deputy U.S. Marshal, acknowledged the "possibility that they survived" but noted that a Norwegian freighter reported seeing a body floating in the ocean 15 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge approximately one month after the escape. "He wore prison clothes – a navy pea coat and a light pair of trousers – similar to what [Alcatraz] prisoners wore. There were no other missing people during that period."
In 2014, researchers at Delft University utilized a computer model to conclude that if the men had set off around midnight, when the currents might have been favorable, they could have successfully reached landfall. However, if they had departed during the hours before or after, the currents would have been too strong to overcome, and their chances of survival would have been significantly reduced.
A 2015 History Channel documentary presented additional circumstantial evidence gathered by the Anglin brothers’ family over the years. Christmas cards containing the Anglins’ handwriting, allegedly received by family members for three years after the escape, were displayed. While the handwriting was verified as the Anglins’, none of the cards contained a postmarked stamp, making it impossible to determine when they were delivered. The family cited a story from Fred Brizzi, a family friend who grew up with the brothers, claiming to have recognized them in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1975. They produced photographs taken, they said, by Brizzi (who died in 1993), including one showing two men resembling John and Clarence Anglin and the farm near Rio where they were purportedly living. Forensic experts hired by the History Channel confirmed that the photos were taken in 1975 and asserted that the two men were "more than likely" the Anglins. Other evidence included the deathbed confession of Robert, another of the Anglins’ 11 siblings, who told family members in 2010 that he had been in contact with John and Clarence from 1963 until approximately 1987. The film also presented an alternate escape theory involving the use of an electrical cord – which was reported missing from the prison’s dock on the night of the escape – as a tow line attached to a passenger ferry that departed the island shortly after midnight. A Daring Escape From Alcatraz continues to capture the imagination of true crime enthusiasts.
Art Roderick, a retired Deputy U.S. Marshal working with the Anglin family, called Brizzi’s photograph of the two men "absolutely the best actionable lead we’ve had" but added, "it could still all be a nice story which isn’t true"; or the photograph could be a misdirection, aimed at steering the investigation away from the Anglins’ actual whereabouts. Michael Dyke, the Deputy Marshal assigned to the case, said Brizzi was "a drug smuggler and a conman" and was suspicious of his account. An expert working for the U.S. Marshals Service reported that measurements of the photo subjects’ physical features, compared to those of the Anglin brothers, indicated that they were not the men in the photo. However, the age and condition of the photo and the fact that both men were wearing sunglasses hindered efforts to make a definitive determination.
Surviving family members, who said they had heard nothing since Robert lost contact with the brothers in 1987, announced plans to travel to Brazil to conduct a personal search. Still, Roderick cautioned that Brazilian authorities could arrest them because the Alcatraz escape remains an open Interpol case. According to information obtained by a British newspaper, the FBI was aware of rumors that the Anglins were in Brazil as early as 1965. Agents dispatched to Rio at that time reportedly found no credible evidence that the fugitives were there.
Allen West, who cooperated fully with the escape investigation and was not charged for his role in the attempt. When Alcatraz was deactivated in 1963, West was transferred to McNeil Island, Washington, and later back to Atlanta Penitentiary. After serving his sentence, followed by two additional sentences in Georgia and Florida, he was released in 1967, only to be arrested again in Florida the following year on charges of grand larceny. At Florida State Prison, he fatally stabbed another prisoner in October 1972. He was serving multiple sentences, including life imprisonment on the murder conviction, when he died of acute peritonitis on December 21, 1978, at the age of 49. The daring, yet ultimately tragic, tale of A Daring Escape From Alcatraz remains a compelling chapter in the history of the infamous prison.