The Baffling Story Of The 1962 Escape From Alcatraz And The Three Prisoners Behind It
On June 11, 1962, inmates Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin, and John Anglin became the only men to ever escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary — but nobody knows if they made it out of San Francisco Bay alive.
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary was thought to be escape-proof, but in 1962, three prisoners managed to sneak off the island.
Alcatraz Island’s history as a prison dates back to the mid-19th century, and it served as a federal penitentiary beginning in 1934. Its high walls, armed guards, and location in the middle of San Francisco Bay earned it a reputation for being inescapable. However, the 1962 Alcatraz escape showed it wasn’t entirely foolproof.
On the night of June 11, 1962, inmates Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin used papier-mâché heads to trick guards into believing they were asleep in their cells. They managed to escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary under the cover of darkness — and they were never seen again.
The FBI and local law enforcement spent years trying to track the men down, to no avail. Countless theories were proposed about their fate. Some suggested they drowned while trying to float to Angel Island, while others claimed sightings in places as far-flung as Brazil, Maryland, and Florida.
After 17 years, the FBI closed its file on the 1962 Alcatraz escape without any definitive answers. Despite the uncertainty, let’s explore how these three men managed to pull off such a daring escape.
Alcatraz, The Nearly Inescapable Maximum Security Prison
To understand the challenge of escaping from Alcatraz, one needs to know about the prison’s history. Initially, Alcatraz was a naval fort in the 1850s and later housed military prisoners. By the 1910s, the U.S. Army constructed a sprawling prison complex on the island.
In 1933, the United States Department of Justice took over the island, modernizing the buildings and boosting security to turn it into a maximum-security prison. Surrounded by water and known for its strong currents, many considered it an inescapable fortress.
For nearly three decades, this seemed to be true. Prior to the 1962 escape, 12 other attempts were made, with prisoners either being recaptured, shot, or drowning in the Bay.
In 1932, the year before the U.S. Department of Justice began transforming it into a federal penitentiary, Alcatraz Island looked secure enough to prevent any inmate from getting out.
Inside The Daring 1962 Alcatraz Escape
The planning for the successful escape in 1962 started in late 1961. Frank Morris, a career criminal with a high IQ, masterminded the plan. He brought in John and Clarence Anglin, brothers who had been robbing banks together since they were young, and Allen West, an expert car thief.
Frank Morris, the ringleader of the 1962 Alcatraz escape.
Over six months, the men used stolen saw blades, spoons, and an improvised drill made from a vacuum cleaner motor to widen the ventilation ducts in their cells. They worked during the cell block’s “music hour” while Morris played his accordion to mask the noise. During the day, they concealed the holes with painted cardboard.
Clarence Anglin and his brother John were the other two inmates who successfully escaped from Alcatraz in June 1962.
The holes allowed them access to an unguarded utility tunnel. From there, they climbed to the empty top floor where they stored a homemade inflatable raft, stitched from 50 raincoats.
While constructing the raft, they placed convincing dummy heads made from papier-mâché, soap, toilet paper, and real hair on their pillows to avoid detection. When everything was ready, they made their move.
In 2013, a man claiming to be John Anglin wrote to San Francisco police, claiming all three escapees had survived.
The men exited their cells, entered the tunnel, and climbed to the roof using a network of pipes. West was left behind when he couldn’t remove a vent grill in time. From the roof, the escapees slid down a smokestack, scaled barbed wire fences, and scrambled down a cliff to a beach. They embarked on their makeshift raft and disappeared into the night.
What Happened To The Alcatraz Escapees?
The next morning, guards discovered the men’s disappearance only thanks to the dummy heads. Through questioning West, police learned they intended to paddle to Angel Island, about two miles away.
Clarence Anglin placed this dummy head in his bed before climbing out of his cell the night of the escape.
Three days later, authorities found one of the men’s makeshift oars floating in San Francisco Bay. On June 21, shreds of raincoat were found on Angel Island, supporting the possibility they reached the island.
However, the FBI determined that the strong currents and poor weather on the night of June 11 made survival unlikely. They concluded the men probably drowned at sea and closed the case in 1979. Still, many believe the trio successfully escaped.
The escapees used this makeshift paddle to attempt reaching Angel Island — but whether they succeeded remains a mystery.
In 2013, a man claiming to be John Anglin wrote to San Francisco police. The letter asserted that Morris and Clarence Anglin had died in 2005 and 2008, respectively, and that John was suffering from cancer. He offered to surrender for medical treatment. The legitimacy of the letter remains unproven, leaving the fate of the Alcatraz escapees a mystery.
What is known is that in 1962, three men attempted the impossible — and they might have succeeded.
