Selects: How the Escape from Alcatraz Worked

The escapees from a famously notorious prison were a group of hardened criminals with a history of escaping and committing non-violent crimes such as drug trafficking and bank robbery.

The Escapees Were a Group of Hardened, Career Criminals with a History of Escaping from Other Prisons

Frank Morris had been engaging in criminal activities since the age of 13 and was known for escaping from other institutions. He had escaped from places in Florida before being incarcerated on Alcatraz. The Anglin brothers, who came from a family of migrant farm workers and thieves, were known for their history of armed robberies. They had adjoining cells on Alcatraz, a risky situation that was permitted, possibly due to the administration’s arrogance, given their propensity for escape.

The Escapees Were Not Violent Offenders, Mainly Committing Crimes Like Drug Trafficking and Bank Robbery

Chuck Bryant and Josh Clark, presumably commentators on the case, noted that the individuals involved were not violent criminals. Th ...

In the intricate escape plan executed by the escapees, months of careful planning and preparation were crucial to the success of their daring feat.

Meticulous Arrangements and Tool Collection

Beginning around six months prior to the escape, the inmates diligently started devising their exit strategy. They gathered and ingeniously repurposed over 80 different tools and materials, which included parts from a vacuum cleaner, electric hair clippers, and other assorted items provided by the forth conspirator, Allen West. Despite the vacuum motor drill being too loud and subsequently abandoned, the hair clipper drill, though quieter, its specific uses unreported, became a part of their arsenal of homemade tools for the escape.

Crafting the Exit Route and Decoy Dummies

With a creative use of resources, the inmates assembled life-saving gear out of 50 rubber prison issue raincoats, with the work being primarily carried out by Allen West. By consulting a Popular Mechanics article, they conceived and fabricated inflatable pontoons and a raft. West's role in the planning and execution of the plan has, however, been subject to skepticism, with the true extent of his contributions remaining uncertain.

Meanwhile, they utilized their limited evening hours to discretely chip away at the ventilation shafts in their cells to establish an exit into a utility corridor, which became their mak ...

On the night of June 11, 1962, the three escapees - Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin - successfully escaped their cells and made it to the roof of the prison

On Monday, June 11, 1962, Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin left their cells and, after successfully navigating to the roof of the cell block, they moved through a ventilation shaft where the grate posed no further problem.

Allen West was left behind after failing to widen the escape hole in his own cell

Allen West could not escape with the others; he struggled to widen the hole in his cell wall. Morris and Clarence took turns trying to help West break through, but they ultimately had to leave him behind. Around 1 a.m., West finally managed to break open his cell grate, long after the others had gone. They had left him a paddle, an inflated raft, a Rice Krispie treat, and some pruno, but a guard's new position prevented his escape. West waited for an opportunity to leave, but the guard stayed put until dawn, forcing West to retreat to his cell.

The next morning during the 7 a.m. bed check, the escape of the others was discovered as dummy heads were found in their beds. The movie adaptation mirrors this event, showing West unable to proceed with the escape on his own.

The escapees used a raft made from rubber raincoat material to attempt to cross the cold, rough waters of San Francisco Bay

The trio crafted a life raft and paddles from rubber raincoat material, inspired by a Popular Mechanics ...

The escape of Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers from Alcatraz in 1962 remains one of the most captivating mysteries in American criminal history, with numerous theories and speculations about their ultimate fate.

The Bureau of Prisons initially claimed the escapees drowned in the bay, but the case remains open today

The Bureau of Prisons fortified Alcatraz to prevent escapes, and although 36 inmates had attempted to escape before, almost all were either killed, captured, or found dead. However, Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers vanished without a trace, fueling various speculations about their fate.

Initially, the Bureau of Prisons stated that the escapees drowned and were washed out to sea immediately after the escape. The FBI presumed them dead since their investigation closed in 1979, with their bodies lost at sea.

Sightings of possible bodies and evidence found on the bay shores lent some credence to the idea they may have survived

However, Chuck Bryant mentioned that the absence of any reports of missing persons wearing jeans around the time a body was sighted in the bay suggests that the escapees' bodies could have been swept out to sea. There was a sighting of a body five weeks after the escape by Norwegian sailors, but this was not conclusively linked to the escapees.

Despite this, the U.S. Marshals Service has kept the case open, with the escapees still considered wanted fugitives. Josh Clark noted this ongoing search, while Chuck Bryant commented that the marshals doubt the escapees survived and lived quiet lives, given their history as career criminals.

The Anglin family maintains the brothers did in fact escape to Brazil and lived there for years afterwards

Adding to the complexity of the mystery is a photo that the Anglin family produced, which purportedly shows the brothers in Brazil in 1975. This photograph has been analyzed using facial recognition technology, which suggested that the individuals in the picture could indeed be the Anglin brothers.

Facial recognition analysis of a photo claimed to be the Anglin brothers supports this theory

The artificial intelligence analysis of the photograph has lent some support to the family's claims that the brothers successfully escaped to Brazil and did not drown as initially theorized by authoriti ...