The Daring Escape from Alcatraz
Did they make it out alive? Or drown in the attempt?
Mystery Mob!
Alcatraz Island was a federal penitentiary for nearly thirty years. During that time, there were 36 escape attempts: 23 were caught, 6 were shot and killed, and 5 are listed officially as “missing and presumed drowned.”
However, recent evidence has come up, suggesting that 3 of those who were presumed to have drowned -- John Anglin, Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris -- actually escaped.
So...did they drown in the process or make it out alive?
But before we get too much farther, let’s answer this week’s Whodunit:
A serial killer gives his victims 2 pills to play a game. He tells them that one of the pills is a vitamin pill, and the other is deadly. The victims choose a pill and gulp it down with a glass of water, and the killer swallows the other. After 50 attempts, only his victims die. How does he pull it off?
Answer: The water was poisoned, not the pill.
Now let’s keep an eye on the guard’s patrol schedule, snag some waterproof gear, and dive into the waters surrounding Alcatraz!
Alcatraz Island -- More than just the setting of Michael Bay movies
Built on top of a fort in the early 1900s, the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary (often referred to as Alcatraz Island, Alcatraz, or if you’re Connery…”The Rock”) officially closed as a prison in 1963. Turns out that shipping prisoners to an island and having to feed, clothe, and guard them so far from civilization is a tad more expensive...who knew!
But during its heyday, the structure housed prisoners who continuously caused trouble at other federal prisons -- sort of a “last resort” for the worst of the worst. The place quickly gained a reputation as the toughest prison in America. Former prisoners noted brutality, inhumane conditions, and according to a former US Attorney General, “conductive to psychology that builds up a sinister ambitious attitude among prisoners.”
The remote location, the cold and strong currents of San Francisco Bay, and the increased security for the “worst of the worst” prisoners led many to believe that Alcatraz was escape-proof.
Not. So. Fast.
The Prison Break
There’s nothing quite like a clever prison break. And the one we found this week is INGENIOUS. The plan hatched by John Anglin, Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris (in prison for robbing banks) is so wild it feels like fiction.
For a year or so, the two Anglin brothers and Morris worked in secret, constructing their getaway materials above their cell. They sharpened a spoon, collected old raincoats from the laundry room and tied them together as a raft, and created paper maché versions of themselves (complete with paint and real human hair).
And on the night of June 11, they set their plan in motion.
They set up their homemade dummies under the blankets before they squeezed through the hole (that they’d carved via their spoon). Then they climbed up a piping system onto the roof.
On the top of the building, they ran across to the north end of the prison where they slid down a smokestack to the ground. Then they took off on their raincoat raft.
For decades, no one knew whether they made it to shore or died trying.
The Reveal
In January of 2018, CBS published an extract of a 2013 letter addressed to the FBI. The alleged sender?
John Anglin.
It stated:
“My name is John Anglin. I escape[d] from Alcatraz in June 1962 with my brother Clarence and Frank Morris. I’m 83 years old and in bad shape. I have cancer. Yes we all made it that night but barely!”
The letter further explained that he (John) was the last living member of the three escapees. And he even offered a deal: If authorities announced on television that he would receive a single one-year jail sentence, in which he could have the medical treatment he needed, “I will write back to let you know exactly where I am. This is no joke…”
The FBI did not oblige. In fact, they suppressed the letter entirely until CBS found the excerpt.
According to reports, DNA evidence on the letter itself was inconclusive. But it’s fun to think that it is indeed John Anglin, finally ready to tell the world what he accomplished.
Escaping prison yourself? Better check out these deep dives first:
The Stuff You Should Know podcast has a fun episode on it
The History Channel has a good write up on the letter
As always,
Stay ‘spicious
-Andy & Mark
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