On June 11, 1962, three men escaped from the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary never to be seen again. These men were the first to ever escape the island nicknamed “The Rock”, an island home to a prison that housed some of the most problematic criminals our country has ever known. Since that storied night, there has never been a more elaborate, and yet innately and romantically enchanting, escape in federal prison history.
Alcatraz was a prison designed to house the nation’s most notorious and ruthless criminals. From its establishment in 1934, it was the home of infamous gangsters and lawbreakers such as Al Capone, “Machine Gun” Kelly, and Mickey Cohen. Its secluded, island location was designed as a deterrent for escape and a natural barrier from the civilized world. Among such egregious company, few expected trouble from Frank Morris, Allen West, and Clarence and John Anglin when they arrived at the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in the early 60’s. However, these conspirators had met long before their fateful assignment to Alcatraz. The brothers, Clarence and John Anglin, worked together as laborers in Georgia before being arrested for in 1956 robbing banks. In the Atlanta Penitentiary, they met inmates Frank Morris and Allen West and, after several failed escape attempts in Atlanta, the Anglins’, along with Morris and West, were sent to Alcatraz Prison. Says Marie Widner of her brothers Clarence and John, "Authorities said they would never put them together anywhere because they liked to get together and plan out an escape. But they brought them here (Alcatraz) and said we're putting them together [because] they will never get off this island. And that was just what the boys wanted. They wanted to be together — cell by cell”(Sullivan).
On the night of the escape, the four men had already spent months preparing for the daring undertaking that awaited them. Their first obstacle, escaping their cell, was a formidable one. Over the course of the previous year, the men had chipped away at the concrete walls, weakened with moisture-damage, with spoons smuggled in from the cafeteria and an electric drill made from a stolen vacuum cleaner motor. After digging through wall and vent grill of their cells, the men squeezed through a hole less than 2 feet wide. Unfortunately, on the night of the escape, Allen West was unable to chip away at the concrete wall in time to meet the men before they escaped and was therefore left in his cell. For the rest of the men, behind each of their cells was a 3-foot access hallway that led to a fan vent large enough to allow the men to crawl through to the roof. Once on the roof, the men made their way to the rocky outcrop of the island, evading the nearby guard towers, and into San Francisco Bay. To cross the bay, the men had made paddles and life rafts out of nearly 50 stolen standard issued raincoats adhered together with cement glue. With no lights, a rough tide, and 54-degree water, the men set out across the bay toward, presumably, Angel Island.
Nine hours passed before the guards of Alcatraz became aware of the missing prisoners. To insure that there absence would not be noticed by night watch guards that frequently patrolled the cellblocks, the escapees made paper maché heads with hair from the prison barbershop and left them in the beds of their cells. To cover up the holes in their walls, the men also made fake vent grills out of the cover of a notebook and green paint and used the noise distraction of music hour to dig at the walls. In the morning, it was not until one of the guards touched the paper maché heads and it rolled off the bed that the prisoners escape had been detected. Authorities immediately began their search for the missing prisoners. Remains of a raft, paddle, and a bag containing the Anglins’ personal items were found on Angel Island, though no bodies were ever found. Though it was theoretically possible to make it to Angel Island, water temperatures and ocean currents made it unlikely, according to officials. West, who was unable to escape his cell, provided much insight behind the three men’s actual escape plan. The men intended to sail to Angel Island where they would then steal clothes and a car, though no reports of stolen cars or clothes were reported the night of the escape. After a 17-year investigation, U.S. Marshals assumed that the men drowned while paddling towards the mainland. Though Deputy U.S. Marshal Michael Dyke says of the prisoners, ”they probably are dead… there's no proof they're dead, so we're not going to quit looking" (Sullivan).
The fates of these three men have never been discovered. It remains one of our countries greatest mysteries and captivates audiences daily with its essence of thrilling escape and evasion. Though the success of the escape is still unknown, Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers have blessed us with one of history’s most fantastic escape legends of all time.