A bold new attempt to break out of Alcatraz | Forensic Files

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please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website although Alcatraz prison had since been
repaired to a workable condition the battle scars of Boerne Kois 1946 violent failed escape remained visible
throughout the cell house areas of the floor were chipped cracked and faded black from where grenades had detonated
in response to the Battle of Alcatraz that resulted in the deaths of two correctional officers the imposing
prison tightened its grip on the inmates the stricter control was used to readjust the kinds of rebellious
attitudes and behaviors that led to the siege in the first place and aimed to crush all thoughts of escape minor
infractions seen as disrespectful or agitating were met with harsh punishment rumours spread amongst inmates that
guard tower snipers had been ordered to shoot to kill anyone trying to break out
in the ten years following the Battle of Alcatraz no inmates attempted an escape
it seems that the temptation had been overtaken by fear of death however the thought never left the minds
of battered inmates who resented alcatraz and sought freedom as days dragged on and felt like eternity
inmates found solace in passing the time by dreaming up elaborate escape plans and thinking of ways to get out of
Alcatraz once and for all every morning at 6:30 a.m. inmates woke to the piercing sound of
the morning whistle they rose made their beds cleaned up their cells and washed themselves in preparation for breakfast
at 7:15 a.m. a second whistle blew signaling the start of the camp inmates stood at the bars of their cell while a
passing guard took a headcount it was no different on the morning of June 12th 1962 inmates leant against the bars as
guards walk past County oddly the guards realized they were missing 3 thinking they must have miscalculated they walked
back along the corridors and recounted but they got the same result 3 were missing logical explanations were
considered first maybe the three inmates were still in a deep sleep and failed to
hear the morning whistle maybe they were unwell in bed and needed medical attention guards quickly paced by the
cells to determine who wasn't upstanding in cell 1 5 8 an inmate was curled up in
bed still asleep reaching into the cell a guard padded the pillow next to the inmates head in an attempt to wake him
up but the inmate didn't stir the guard then tucked the inmates head still no response
the guard no doubt we had to have a dead man or a dummy in the cellblock I can't
wake him out other guards walked over to the cell to investigate one yard at the
inmate to get up still no response in patient the guard reached in and slept the sleeping inmate heart across the
face horrified guards let back when the inmates decapitated head rolled straight
off the pillow and onto the floor it's a dummy a guard called out they caught the
blankets off the cot and exposed bunched up clothing that had been tucked underneath to give the illusion of a
sleeping body a small square hole just wide enough to squeeze through was found dug into the back wall of the cell
guards rushed frantically around the Silvius they discovered two more cells with dummies in the beds and holes dug
out of the back walls the three inmates belonging to each of the cells were missing when the guards rushed to raise
the alarm Alcatraz inmate Alan West casually leant against his cell door and called out he may as well lock me up
I planned the entire escape [Music] serving 10 years for transporting stolen vehicles across state lines 33 year-old
Allen West was relocated to Alcatraz in 1957 after a failed escape attempt that his previous State Penitentiary in
Florida Alcatraz inmate az1 one-30 west quickly earned a reputation as an aggressive tough guy who always got in
trouble with other inmates after a punishing sting in d-block the prison's treatment unit for troublemakers
featuring solitary and isolation cells Western merge with a strong desire to escape Alcatraz but had yet to come up
with a plan on how to do so the main cell house of Alcatraz prison consisted of four large cell blocks
a B C and D blocks D block was the only one closed off from the main cell house the cells in a block were mostly used
for storage except when certain prisoners needed to be separated from other inmates but were
not being punished the lines of cells in B and C blocks housed the majority of the general prison population each cell
block was 3 stories high with rows of cells on each level every moment of the day guards patrolled the ground floor
corridors between cell blocks as well as the balconies of each of the higher levels on the top of each cellblock was
an attic like space directly under the prison ceiling this narrow space was surrounded at its edges by bars and was
in full view of guards patrolling the galleries there was an open space filled with pipes and vents that was rarely
visited as such it had been neglected and become very dirty and dusty and the ceiling paint had faded so after his
punishment in d-block Allen West was assigned to go up to the top of the cell blocks to clean up and
to repaint the ceiling of the main cell house whilst up there he caught sight of
something intriguing there were multiple wide ventilation shafts in the ceiling that led out onto the prison roof most
had been filled in with concrete long ago making them completely inaccessible however West notice one ventilation
shaft had not yet been filled in but there were several steel bars inside the duct Criss crossing over each other
they were strong and would be near impossible to cut through with meager makeshift prison tools it seemed to the
ventilation shaft was a false hope but then West noticed the edges of the vent had been screwed into the concrete
ceiling he started to believe with the right tools he might be able to unscrew and remove the entire vent structure and
pulled the whole thing out in one piece that would save him from having to cut through the bars inside the exposed
tunnel would lead him straight on to the prison roof and onwards to freedom West
couldn't investigate the vent properly though as the top of the cellblock could be seen by guards patrolling the nearby
gun gallery if they caught sight of him eyeing the vent they'd probably fill it with concrete immediately as a
precaution there was no way he could work on unscrewing the massive vent out of the roof whilst up there without
being noticed even if he worked on a slowly over torn tinkering with the vent whenever he wasn't being watched a
straight guard could notice the tampering damage and have the vent filled as promising as it looked it was
too high-risk to do anything about it and the West had to let it go that tortured him that he had found a
potential exit but he couldn't take advantage of it 32 year-old John Anglin and his 31
year-old younger brother Clarence robbed the bank in Alabama with a toy pistol netting them almost
$20,000 in cash but they were apprehended five days later and after their convictions the brothers were
placed in separate prisons John was sent to Florida and Clarence was sent to Kansas it was while serving time in
Florida that John Anglin met Allen West before West was shipped off to Alcatraz after his botched escape attempt after
West was moved to Alcatraz John Anglin was transferred as well he was sent to Kansas where he was reunited with his
brother Clarence John got a job in the prison's bakery in Kansas when a guard spotted him straining to push a trolley
carrying two supposedly empty bread boxes into the prison elevator the guard ordered him to stop and open the lid
hidden inside was John's brother Clarence attempting to escape the failed breadbox breakout rewarded the siblings
a ticket each to Alcatraz they transfer records stating the move was to ensure safer custody John Anglin arrived first
in October 1960 becoming Alcatraz inmate AZ one four seven six Clarence arrived soon after in January
1961 his Alcatraz inmate az1 485 the Anglin brothers arrived to the fearsome Alcatraz prison without the kind of
dangerous reputation that preceded their cellmates they were nobodies who had no connection
to any well-known crime circles they didn't have a hardcore violent criminal history to boast about the big Krong
that put them behind bars was considered soft it was committed with a toy weapon
because they didn't want to hurt anybody in an act of uncharacteristically Nyan see Alcatraz stuff permitted the Anglin
brothers to be placed in adjacent cells and sit together during mealtime what was known to other inmates in
Alcatraz was that the Anglin brothers were failed escapees always looking for a way out John Anglin was soon
reacquainted with out on West West was still obsessed with the thought of escape and after learning about the
Anglin brothers failed attempt he realized he and the siblings shared mutual interests trusting the england's
west told them of his prior discovery the ventilation shaft on top of the cellblock a lengthy and quiet discussion
followed about how they could possibly pull off a successful escape the group clicked immediately they were all on the
same page and two they hatched the beginnings of an escape plan around removing the duct and climbing out onto
the prison roof from there they would climb down the prison building and make a break for San Francisco City across
the bay Alcatraz inmate azad one four forty one thirty five year old bank robber Frank Morris had been in and out
of trouble with the law since he was 13 years old throughout his troublesome youth Morris
adapted his high intelligence to serve Him more practically his understanding and observation of others made him
incredibly cunning and trued he put his skills to the test by trying to break out of every institution that held him
when he was finally sent to the end of the prison line Alcatraz his official occupation listed on his prison
documents was escape artist prison authorities considered Morris a psychopath a loner who preferred solitary
activities and who kept his thoughts to himself inmates saw Morris as the most intelligent person in Alcatraz a genius
which made him stand out to Allen West who just happened to be he's sole neighbor
previous escapes by other inmates throughout the years of Alcatraz had failed for being too hasty with little
in the way of cleaning West needed someone who could outsmart Alcatraz an experienced escapee who was patient and
clever someone who could foresee and solve various problems in their planning and not leave anything to chance
which made Frank Morris the perfect person to join West than the Anglin brothers escape and by December 1961
Morris was brought up to speed he became invaluable to the group Morris spearheaded some of the more
elaborate and brilliant ideas in the escape and resolved a lot of the problems that stood between the inmates
and freedom when it was built in the 1930s Alcatraz prison was one of the largest concrete structures in the world
the solid impenetrable concrete exterior added to the prison's escape-proof reputation however by the 1960s the
building had been battered for decades by corrosive seawater that had worn down the structures integrity cracks were
beginning to appear throughout the cell house creating structural vulnerabilities spending upwards of 23
hours a day in one cell with not much else to do but stare at the walls inmates noticed the many cracks slowly
appearing before any guards did West Morris and the Anglin brothers scratched at the cracks in their cells and
realized that the supposedly solid concrete around them actually flaked away rather easily
when chipped at with a sharp tool at the base of the back wall of each soul was a small vent measuring 6 by 10
inches the escaping inmates plan was to remove the grill that covered the vent widen the vent hole until they could fit
their bodies through it and then crawl into the utility corridor behind it the utility corridor was a sealed corridor
that was rarely used filled with piping and scaffolding it was an easy climb up the three levels in a utility corridor
to the top of the cellblock and to the ventilation shaft they hoped would be their exit from the cell house to dig
out their cell walls they needed to construct decent digging tools the group noticed that the guards counted knives
after each meal to ensure none had been stolen but they neglected to count the less threatening utensils so they were
easily able to pocket the metal spoons they used for their meals they bent the bowl of the spoon back and forth until
it snapped off then sharpened at the broken end of the handle and used it the deaconship at the concrete around the
vent in the backs of their cells digging occurred at night during the music hello
this was when inmates with instruments were permitted to play before lights-out during music hour the cell house was
filled with the ear-splitting echoing sound of dozens of instruments playing different songs all at once
it easily masks the sound of the escaping inmates chipping and carving out the walls in their cells the Anglin
brothers work together as one team and western morris as the other as one inmate dug the other acted as a lookout
indeed nor the roles were reversed they flushed concrete chunks down the toilets in their cells and swept dust
out into the corridor they'd past larger piles of broken up concrete two other inmates who worked
outdoors where the pieces were discreetly scattered outside the other inmates helped without question there
was a code amongst the prison population if you could help another inmate escape
he did it even if you weren't participating in the escape yourself in the early days they initially hid the
small damage they were creating in their cell walls with strategically placed boxes or hanging clothes but as days
turned to weeks the damage became far more obvious they worried their work could be easily exposed in a simple
random soul-search the excitement of escaping was blinding them to obvious flaws in their planning they needed to
slow down and think things through be smarter than the prison after putting their heads together they came up with a
solution they each built fake vent grilles out of cardboard and painting canvas using paint collected from
inmates who were permitted to make art they painted the fake cardboard grills the same color as the ones in their
cells during times they couldn't work on digging they covered their handiwork with the fake grill passing guards were
fooled the fake grilles were near exact replicas of the real thing after months of digging it was Morris and John Anglin
who burst through the backs of their cells first they had expanded the six by ten inch event gap into a sizeable 10 by
14 inch hole yet there was no sense in going into the utility corridor and climbing up to the ventilation shaft
just yet their shadowy figures would most certainly be seen or heard by nightshift guards besides another major
problem had arisen they needed to fix before they got to work on the ventilation shaft
after lights out at 9:30 p.m. guards walked down the corridors and did a body count this happened all through
the night on the hour every hour there was a major problem for the escapees they couldn't sneak out the back of
their cell to get to work on the ventilation shaft as their absence would be noticed during the count they needed
to create the illusion that they were still in bed asleep when they weren't it would require something smarter than
just stuffing pillows under their blankets to look like there was a body under there after thinking hard for a
solution Frank Morris approached inmates who were artists and inquired about what
colors of paint you would have to mix to create a flesh-colored tone then using paper mache around a wire frame a
mixture of concrete and plaster dust sticky toothpaste and soap mixed into the consistency of clay and the flesh
colored paint Morris and the group managed to create dummy heads that were amazingly detailed and lifelike good
enough to trick a passing guard looking into a dark soul during nightly counts Clarence Anglin worked in the prison
barber shop and he was able to smuggle out bunches of cut hair that they stuck on the dummy heads they even gave the
dummy heads eyebrows and eyelashes the escaping inmates also needed to work out a way to take out the ventilation shaft
on top of the cellblock without being seen by guards Alan West was still assigned to paint the top of the
cellblock and he intentionally swept dust and dried paint flakes off the edge causing them to rain down on the lower
tier balconies and to the Polish to ground floor below guards became frustrated at the mess so West
approached them with a solution he suggests that he should hang heavy blankets around the top of the cellblock
to create a wall that would stop the dust and paint flakes from falling off the edge the unsuspecting guards gave
West permission to do this the hanging blankets gave the escaping inmates complete privacy to work on removing the
ventilation shaft and luckily for them the blankets were permitted to hang up there for months without issue once
Frank Morris and Clarence Anglin completed their dummy heads they tucked bunched up clothing under their blankets
and arrested the head on their pillow giving the illusion of a sleeping buddy passing guards were completely fooled
they were convinced the Frank Morris and Clarence Anglin were asleep in their cells each night when in reality they
were on top of the cellblock hiding behind the walls of blankets securing their exit out of the prison during
their childhood growing up in the Florida swamps the angle and brothers visited local swimming holes and built
makeshift boats and rafts out of any material they could fall in they developed a strong understanding of
rough building and how to negotiate currents many years later as they grant Escape
from Alcatraz plan progressed they suggested that the group construct a raft and life jackets to increase their
chances of surviving the trek across the San Francisco Bay to the mainland the only waterproof item on Alcatraz that
the inmates had access to we rolled US army issue olive colored rubber raincoats these were given to inmates
working outdoors toward off the icy ocean breeze the rain coats were durable and strong and the ideal fabric for an
inflatable raft and lifejackets other inmates handed the group their raincoats and then lied to the guards stating that
they had misplaced lost or others had stolen their coats there was an overabundance of them so the guards
would hand the inmates a new one without question over time the escapees amassed
more than three dozen raincoats that they stored secretly on top of the cellblock a 1962 issue of the magazine
Popular Mechanics gave the inmates the pattern they needed to design the lifejackets the magazine which was
accessible through the prison library featured a lengthy article called your life preserver how will it behave when
you need it the article listed different flotation device designs with detailed illustrations as well as a test and
critique of each the inmates determined that the yoke type design was the one they'd modelled their lifejackets on
and wrapped around the back of the neck and hung down the chest Allen West and John Anglin obtained sewing needles
heavy thread and glue and started putting together the life jackets in their souls at night they cut off the
Ranko sleeves and stitched them together West had now prioritized the creation of
the lifejackets because unlike the angle ins who were experienced swimmers Morrison West were not West actually
halted work on digging through his cell wall to focus on making the life jackets
and raft he had already made a sizable cavity in his rear wall and had placed the fake grill in front but there was
still at least two more inches of concrete between his self and the utility corridor behind West plant to
keep through the remaining concrete on the night of the escape instead of wasting valuable time continuing bid to
get all our prior there were more pressing jobs to do each of the other men had already broken through the backs
of their selves into the utility corridor so they were ready to squeeze out the moment lights went out on the
night of the escape on may 1962 the inmates began making a six by fourteen foot raft that would carry them across
the bay to the San Francisco mainland the raft was stitched together using thirty two sets of raincoat sleeves to
form a long inflatable tube that would frame the base of the raft the base itself was made out of the backs of the
raincoats over several weeks they constructed the raft in small pieces which were then taken to the top of the
cellblock and assembled into the larger structure all they needed to do now was work out how to pump up the raft and
life jackets Frank Morris had that covered another decor DM player Morris asked prison officials if he could order a
concertina a small accordion like instrument that he could play during the music hour at night the request was
granted and when Morris obtained the instrument he removed to the keys and cleverly redesigned the pouch to use as
an air pumping mechanism then finally after months of work Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris were able to remove the
ventilation shaft securing their means of escape they clipped her back into the ceiling with clamps and fake screw heads
making it easy to take down when it was time to go with the life jackets and raft ready 18 May built boat paddles out
of the plywood shelving in their selves and two nuts and bolts they had smuggled
from the furniture shop when lights out shadowed the entire cell house in darkness at 9:30 p.m. on June 11th 1962
the escape was on Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers tucked their dummies in to bed removed
the fake grill in the back of their selves and squeezed into the utility corridor guards made their routine head
counts but fell for their dummies in the COTS and assumed they were the sleeping
prisoners Alan West who hadn't yet broken through his cell wall completely kicked at the remaining two inches of
concrete to get through but something was blocking him as the concrete crumbled away had exposed a large steel
reinforced pipe that was embedded into the wall and ran right across the whole West had been digging despite his best
efforts there was no way he could squeeze you out with the pipe in the way the cavity here dug was too small West
kicked the pipe with desperate ferocity but it didn't budge West begged the other escapees to bend the pipe and try
to break it they tried their best but they failed falling behind in their escape Morris and the Anglin brothers
made a difficult decision they turned away from the men who started at all and began climbing up the piping and
scaffolding leading them to the top of the cellblock West had to be left behind they couldn't risk waiting for him
West was overwhelmed with a mix of emotion desperation anger disappointment but in the end he accepted the nature of
the game if it were any of the others in his position he would have left them over the next few hours Alan West
struggled with the pipe until his hands were raw and bloody he didn't know what had become of the other three but since
the prison alarm wasn't going off he knew they hadn't been caught by 1:00 a.m. almost four hours after the others
had climbed up the utility corridor he successfully dug it out enough of his cavity to squeeze his body past the
steel pipe emerging in the utility corridor he frantically climbed up the piping to the top of the cellblock the
others were nowhere to be seen he found a ventilation shaft on the ground and saw the open tunnel leading
to the roof on the ground close by was a life jacket and a paddle left behind by
the others in the Hope West was able to break out and catch up with him West pulled himself up to the roof and
for the first time in a long time he saw the moon sprinting across the roof West prepared himself to leap onto
an exhaust pipe and slide down to the ground he had already wasted too much time and he was determined to make it
down to the shoreline where there was a chance the others might still be waiting
but he stopped dead in his tracks and fell to the ground when he saw a lone guard step out to the railing
surrounding the water tower nearby the guard had a clear view of the side of the building West needed to climb down
and he didn't want to risk being seen so he decided to wait until the guard walked away before making his the same
however the guard didn't leave his post west remained hidden on the roof hoping the guard would walk away just for a
moment hours passed and the wait was agonizing West was so close to freedom but he was unable to take it as the Sun
rose over the horizon and the guard failed to move out of sight West's hope of escape was over for a long moment he
took insights he hadn't seen in years and would perhaps not see again for a very long time the Rising Sun seagull
soaring overhead the lapping waves of the bay the striking Golden Gate Bridge in the
distance as the morning fog swirled away from Alcatraz Island West knew he would
soon be spotted he couldn't see Morris or the Anglin brothers sailing away he had no idea if they had made it or how
far they've gone but the alarm hadn't gone off so he was certain they must have escaped
that he hadn't West crept back across the rooftop he lowered himself down the open
ventilation shaft he climbed back down the utility corridor squeezed back through the hole in his cell and
collapsed into bed by 7:30 a.m. in the following morning June 12th 1962 one of the largest manhunts in the
history of the United States began Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin were
discovered missing guards quickly followed the route the escapees took from their cells to the utility corridor
up to the top of the cellblock through the ventilation shaft then out onto the prison roof they
determined the three escapees must have climbed down the north end of the building as the fence below showed signs
that had been climbed the coiling barbed wire on top was crushed down from where
they would have swung themselves over they could see the stamp down grass the three men would of course when rushing
down the embankment to the shoreline but from the beach onwards the trail went cold prison officials with bloodhounds
canvassed the entire island in case they didn't make it off and were hiding out the shoreline rocks and caves around the
edges of Alcatraz were checked as was every single building even those that were locked and otherwise inaccessible
the possibility the escapees made it off the island seemed more and more likely as every single possible hiding location
was checked and rechecked but no trace of them was found alan west was immediately pulled in for questioning
surprisingly he declined to counsel and was willing to talk he revealed in great
detail how he had discovered the concrete free ventilation shaft on the cellblock roof during his routine
painting assignment now we'd brought the Anglin brothers and Frank Morrison on his escape plan how they dug through
their cells constructed dummy heads lifejackets and the raft he took responsibility for everything and
claimed tools masterminded the entire breakout but prison officials were skeptical some elements of the plan
seemed far too clever for someone like Alan West they conceived it was widely accepted that the spot
won't West claimed it was far more likely that renowned escape artist Frank Morris masterminded the breakout Alan
West claimed their plan was to peddle the raft to Angel Island Angel Island was a large island covered in greenery
that was once the location of an immigration station it was two and a half miles north of Alcatraz Island
after a short rest West explained in their plan was the sail to the mainland landing in Marin County in the northern
part of San Francisco they would then commit burglaries to obtain guns clothes and cars and after that the group would
go their separate ways investigators were fully aware that despite Allen West's openness to talk
his words couldn't be trusted West was clearly loyal to the escapees and invested in their success he was not the
type of inmate that would graciously hand over valuable information to the screws investigators assumed he was
telling them enough detail to answer their questions but he was providing nothing that could jeopardize the
efforts of the escapees he could also be attempting to throw off the investigation with straight up lies
nevertheless the search for Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers was extended to
Angel Island in Marin County evidence found in each of the escapees cells confirmed West's version about how they
orchestrated the escape inside Morris's cell was the copy of Popular Mechanics magazine which featured the article on
lifejacket disorders John Anglin cell had bottles of green and blue paint the colors used to paint over the fake
grills also found any silver rolls of adhesive tape and other art supplies under Clarence Anglin spunk was a folded
handkerchief carrying clippings of dark human hair matching the hair glued to the dummy heads hidden in each inmate
cell where various handmade digging tools including several broken spoons a tea makeshift tools were found in total
on top of the cellblock behind the blankets West had hung out months earlier where the chopped up remains of
the raincoats the life jacket Puddle the escaping inmates have left behind for West were also found up there
most curiously was the discovery made in West cell West had a copy of a road atlas book that featured maps of the US
canada and mexico pages from the mexico section of the atlas had been torn eeeh and couldn't be found
investigators considered the possibility the escapees planned to head straight across the border to somewhere that
would be safe from extradition what the torn they were noticed missing Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers had been
gone for over nine hours giving them a substantial head start it was confirmed that they had made it off Alcatraz
Island as there was no sign of them anywhere on it but the question remained did they survive the trek across the bay
the FBI worked under the assumption that the escapees had succeeded local police
set up roadblocks chase suspicious vehicles come to the coastline and kept an ear out for reports of stolen
vehicles or burglaries as boats circled the bay and helicopters circled the sky 200 soldiers searched Angel Island end
to end but there was no sign of the escapees or any clues as to what might have happened to them the media spread
word of the incredible escape and the story gained international attention headlines and news broadcasts focused on
the near comical concept that inmates were able to dig their way out of the most notorious escape-proof prison using
kitchen spoons Alcatraz prison officials were quick to say face they stated the three escapees would have most certainly
drowned there was no clear evidence to prove it but they believed the untested makeshift
raft and life jackets would have failed the moment the escapees sailed out into the bay the water in San Francisco was
cold not insufferably so but it would have felt shockingly colder to the escapees
as unlike other prisons showers in Alcatraz intentionally used warm water to ensure inmates couldn't adapt to cold
water with additional Endurance's such as the darkness of night the choppy water and the fact that the escapees
were wearing heavy denim prison uniforms that would have weighed them down when wet Alcatraz officials were confident
the three men drowned furthermore prison officials claimed that at the time the inmates would have entered the water the
strong outgoing current would have swept them straight out in the Golden Gate and
into the Pacific Ocean prison officials were sure the three bloated at drowned bodies would eventually be found
floating in the bay or would wash up on nearby beaches despite news spreading the escapees were most likely dead
reports of sightings came in thick and fast three men were seen at a service station
in Seattle the Anglin brothers were apparently seen out in about eating lunch in San Francisco several men
looking like the escapees were seen in a car with a woman driving reports came through that a blue 1955
Chevrolet was stolen in Marin County the night of the escape an unknown man called Stockton Highway Patrol to lodge
a complaint about a car driving erratically and almost forcing him off the road he claimed to have seen three
men in the car wearing identical blue clothing other witnesses claimed to have seen three men floating in a raft in San
Pablo Bay all of these reports were looked into but they were all false or dead-end leads at 10:30 a.m. the morning
of the escape a receptionist working the front desk of a law firm in San Francisco received a strange telephone
call the men on the other end he introduced himself in a low serious voice as John Anglin at this stage the
receptionist hadn't heard about the Alcatraz escape so the name was unfamiliar to her the caller asked to
speak to a lawyer who worked in the office when questioned about his identity the caller said gruffly read the
newspapers then hung up when the FBI were informed with the call they bug to the law office phone in case
the caller rang back they discovered there was a lawyer working in the office who two years earlier defended inmates
who wound up in Alcatraz but the lawyer had never worked for or met either of the Anglin brothers or Frank Morris if
it really was John Anglin calling it was possible he may have gotten the lawyers
details of a fellow inmate prior to escaping Alcatraz however the caller never rang back and
his identity was never confirmed so the FBI put the call down as a hoax over the
following days there were no confirmed sightings of any of the escapees investigators believed it impossible
that the fugitives could have traveled across to the mainland without being spotted by somebody they would have had
to have found new clothes money transportation maybe even weaponry it was considered highly unlikely that they
could have obtained any of the things that they would have needed without anyone noticing it became more and more
likely in the minds of investigators that the escapees never made it to the mainland at 10:15 p.m. on the night of
June 14th three nights after the escape a Coast Guard boat slowly cruised off the shore of Angel Island scanning the
dark water with a search lock the beam of light captured something floating across the surface of the water there
was a home made or made out of blue and green plywood the paddle was compared to
the one left behind for Alan West and there were a match it's confirmed with certainty that the inmates made it into
the water but did they survive the following day a US Army boat skimmed across the bay checking and removing
calls of floating rubbish about a mile north of Alcatraz Island they netted a small package made out of green rubbery
material wrapped inside was a sealed plastic wallet the wallet held scraps of paper with lists of names addresses and
contact numbers of various people amongst the paper were approximately 80 family photographs most compelling was a
receipt for $10 featuring the name Clarence Anglin the rubber packaging that carried the wallet
was confirmed to be made from raincoats worn by Alcatraz inmates the FBI were also able to confirm the photographs
found inside the wallet featured mostly members of the Anglin family this suggested that one of the Anglin
brothers made the package prior to their escape and had it on them when they entered the boat some found it hard to
believe the men would willingly discard such a personal and precious item the photographs were sentimental but the
list of contacts on the outside was practical they assumed the only way the inmates were departed with the important
package was if they dropped it as they were drowning but others considered the package an ingenious ploy to throw off
investigators this wasn't some mad dash of freedom by opportunistic uneducated criminals this was a carefully
orchestrated escape masterminded by known genius Frank Morris they believed the package was meticulously protected
to ensure its contents wouldn't get damaged or sink to the bottom of the bay because they wanted it to be found it
was meant to lead people to believe the escapees drowned if the Anglin brothers considered the package so precious they
would have taken greater care to protect it by tying it to their bodies others believed if there was a simpler
explanation perhaps one of the Anglin brothers dropped it into the water accidentally and either didn't notice or
was unable to retrieve it and its discovery didn't prove any conclusions the FBI investigated the names listed on
the paper found in the floating package curiously there was the name of the lawyer in San Francisco who received the
call from a man claiming to be John Anglin the first morning of the escape other names on the paper included a man
in Cleveland who knew a bank robber incarcerated in Alcatraz but didn't know any of the three escapees another
belonged to a man in Ohio who had been killed in a car accident a year earlier he was a known lone wolf type who didn't
associate with anybody and had never been heard mentioning the names Frank Morris John Anglin or Clarence Anglin
another name on the list was a man from Ohio who knew the Anglin brothers were now her children but he couldn't provide
any more useful information to investigators other names belong to people who had visited family members in
architraves but they had never heard of the fugitives or seen them during their short visits and were genuinely
perplexed why their names were on the list most of the names belonged to direct family and friends of the Anglin
brothers the Englund family were being closely watched by the FBI they claimed to have no knowledge of the escape and
their claims were believable given they lived in Florida and didn't have the money to visit the boys whilst they were
in Alcatraz the Englund family assured investigators that they hadn't heard from John or Clarence and didn't know
their whereabouts Frank Morris was an orphan who was raised in institutions he had no known living relatives thus there
was nobody the FBI could question regarding his disappearance five days after the escape on June 16th
Alcatraz prison warden Olin Blackwell received a postcard stamped from the date before the postcard Brett check to
see what jose luis martinez was up to last Monday night when he spoke from Fisherman's Wharf he wasn't alone or
fishing sure enough the FBI found Jose Martinez on the docks of Fisherman's Wharf
he owned a 27 foot cabin cruiser boat he told the FBI that on the night of June 11th he hadn't taken his boat out onto
the bay in fact he never took his bow dia because they didn't have lights and it wasn't fully equipped to make the
trip a close friend of Martinez vouched that the boat never left the dock the FBI couldn't link Martinez to the escape
and they found no hint as to who sent the postcard to the warden or wife but its contents did open up the
investigation in a new direction and gave more insight into how the inmates may have survived and made it to the
mainland the possibility that there was a boat out in the bay waiting for the escapees
became one of the more significant explanations for those who believe they survived they cut out the problems
surrounding the unpredictability of the raft lifejackets swimming ability and the current all the three escapees
needed to do was swim to the waiting boat and climb aboard this theory contradicted Allen West's version of
what the escapees had supposedly planned to do regarding paddling to Angel Island
and beyond but there was a strong possibility West was lying to protect them the boat theory was bolstered by a
San Francisco police officer who came forward and told the FBI that at 1:00 a.m. on the night of the escape he was
on duty around Fisherman's Wharf he spotted a fishing vessel approximately 30 feet long that was stopped dead in
the water to the southeast of Alcatraz Island he didn't see fishing rods or netting off the side of the boat
according to the police officer the boat moved off around 30 minutes after he noticed it and headed west out the
Golden Gate towards the Pacific Ocean perhaps that boat was involved in the escape
but FBI agents couldn't be 100% certain several dozen boats trolled the San Francisco Bay on any given night unless
they entered the restricted zone surrounding Alcatraz Island which none did on the night of the escape they
would draw a little attention from anybody it would be impossible for the FBI to identify every boat that was in
the bay at the time of the escape especially if one had been involved because the owner would never come
forward but the boat theory seemed unlikely as there was no way the escapees could have
organized the boat to meet them prior to the escape it was incredibly difficult near impossible for information to get
in and out of Alcatraz and none of the escapees had any visitors during their time inside however they did do time
with a renowned and influential mob boss named Ellsworth bumpy Johnson bumpy was
a career criminal in New York and he was the type of person who had the means and
power to put a boat in the harbor to pick up the escapees bumpy never confessed to any involvement and the
assumption he was involved was a bit of a stretch bumpy had no direct connection
to any of the escapees that would compel him to help them accept the fact he was
incredibly anti establishment and anti Authority and may have helped just to stick it to the men other inmates
witnessed the bumpy Johnson looked anxious and lost in thought the day of the escape but it wasn't unusual for
inmates in Alcatraz to look like that bumpy died in 1968 from congestive heart failure any knowledge or involvement he
may have had about the escape died with him as the search continued debates between
inmates inside Alcatraz took place some wanted to believe Morris and the Anglin brothers made it as it gave them hope
others gave them no chance and were confident their bodies were resting in the bottom of the bay the escape did
change the atmosphere in the prison though suddenly the fortress that stripped inmates of hope and humanity
that aimed to punish not rehabilitate no longer seemed so imposing and fearful what followed was a renewed sense of
hope amongst inmates who had lost it long ago if Morris and the Anglin brothers can do
it so can i prison officials increased the frequency of random cell and body searches and constantly relocated
inmates the different cells but the prison's reputation had been tarnished inside and out some inmates were
interviewed by investigators but it was clear there was a sense of loyal camaraderie amongst the prison
population and no one was going to sell out Morris or the Anglin brothers to authorities little bits of partially
useful information were given them apparently the escapees had been learning Spanish prior to the breakout
which gave way to the theory that they had planned to go south across the border more specifically some inmates
overheard talk about going to Brazil but it was hard for investigators to trust anything given by career criminals seven
days after the escape June 18th Alcatraz prison warden Blackwell received another postcard it was stamped
two days earlier in messy uneven capital letters the postcard read haha we made it in the
bottom-right corner were the names Frank John and Clarence warden Blackwell handed the postcard to the FBI but he
believed it was just a hoax the writing on the postcard didn't match handwriting
samples of the escapees but it was written in rushed capital letters so it made it hard to compare divers
with scuba gear probed at the bottom of the bay and authorities trapped floating
debris hoping to find a clue but ten days passed with no new discoveries the suggestion made by some that the
escapees could only have succeeded in such an elaborate breakout by bribing prison staff was considered unlikely by
investigators neither Mara saw the Anglin brothers were wealthy nor were any of their close
friends or relatives they had no hidden stashes of loot from previous robberies as all the money they had stolen had
been recovered the most embarrassing explanation seemed to the most probable the inmates outsmarted the prison
[Music] months later a delayed report came through to FBI headquarters from a crewman aboard a Norwegian freighter
that headed out the Golden Gate on July 17th six days after the escape he said he saw something bobbing in the water a
distance away using binoculars he saw it was the body of a man floating facedown
in the water wearing faded blue denim pants the way the witness described the body strongly correlated with the
physical appearance of Frank Morris the sighting had been recorded in the ship's
log book immediately there was little doubt the crewman had seen a body but it wasn't reported to the FBI until three
months later so the body wasn't able to be recovered to confirm identity unfortunately bodies floating in the bay
weren't an uncommon sight many suicides are committed by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge sometimes the bodies are
found sometimes they're not in fact on the night of the escape a man by the name of Seymour Webber being in his car
on the Golden Gate and jumped off many people witnessed this but Seymour's body was never found the fact that the
crewman gave a description of the body that correlated with the physical appearance of Frank Morris might not be
reliable either who was three months later when he was interviewed and his description may have been influenced by
knowledge of the escaped and the inmates it was making headlines around the world
so their descriptions were well publicized there are a lot of variables when it comes to discovering drowned
bodies in San Francisco Bay no one can accurately predict where bodies will end up or if they will even surface at all
many bodies have gone missing in the bay never to be seen again variables such as
marine life underwater snags rocky outcroppings and debris can hinder a body from surfacing however since the
escaped experts have agreed that if all three Alcatraz inmates drowned then at least one body should have been free on
On June 21st on the beach at Fort Cronkite just outside the Golden Gate a wood of olive colored rubber washed up
on shore it was later confirmed to be one of the homemade lifejackets the inmates wore during their escape the
next day a second lifejacket was pulled from the bay 50 yards off Alcatraz Island both jackets were deflated and it
appeared the seams had not held one of the lifejackets had obvious teeth marks whoever was wearing it bit together the
broken seam as they swam by July the chance of recovering bodies if they had drowned seemed too remote however the
FBI continued searching conducting over 1,000 interviews they continued their round-the-clock surveillance of the
angle and family intercepting mail tailing family members and bugging their telephones but neither John nor Clarence
ever reached the earth either they were smart enough to go and agree on keep a low profile and to make no contact or
they were dead three months after the escape September 13th 1962 a fisherman a half-mile out from Alcatraz reeled in
his lawn and brought up a barnacle-encrusted human skull with its lower jaw missing Alcatraz prison
officials boasted this was proof the escapees had drowned the dental records showed that the skull didn't belong to
any of the inmates further tests showed the skull belonged to someone much older
than any of the escapees the air and water surge concluded on June 22nd eleven days after the escape days weeks
months and years passed with no breakthroughs but there were plenty of rumors assumptions and myths
over the years the Anglin family claimed to have received numerous unexplained birthday letters and postcards that had
writing similar to that of John and Clarence but as none of the letters had postmarked two dates it was difficult to
confirm when they were sent oddly John and Clarence's mother had a bunch of flowers delivered on her
birthday each year the sender remained anonymous years later the England family were given a photograph from an old
friend of John and Clarence the photo showed two men standing near a rock purportedly taken on a farm in Brazil a
forensic expert confirmed the photograph was taken in 1975 and asserted that the
men in the photo were more than likely John and Clarence Anglin however the men are wearing sunglasses and have facial
hair the photo was also taken at a distance so it couldn't be confirmed without a doubt that it was John and
Clarence [Music] in 1973 John and Clarence Anglin 's mother passed away the FBI attended the funeral and witness
accounts claimed that too tall and unusual looking women wearing long dresses and heavy makeup attended the
service said nothing to anybody and disappeared before the FBI could speak to them an old institutional
questionnaire filled out by an incarcerated 20 year old Frank Morris listed the things he would wish for if
who were granted three wishes his wishes were one to get out of prison to a nice
home with everything to go with it three plenty of money it may never be known if any of Morris's wishes came
true after 17 years of active investigation the FBI I reached the formal conclusion on the Escape from
Alcatraz they determined through limited evidence and expert opinion that the likelihood the three inmates survived
for their escape was highly unlikely and that no credible evidence in the US or overseas had emerged to suggest
otherwise the FBI officially ended their involvement in the investigation on December 31st 1979 and handed the case
to the United States Marshal Service a federal government agency that specializes in searching for wanted
individuals and prison escapees open to the possibility that the inmates were able to survive their well thought-out
escape the marshals continue to follow leads in every American state as well as overseas in 2010 after one promising tip
they assumed an unmarked grave claimed to belong to one of the escapees but no positive identification was made for
years since the disappearance authorities have received thousands of leads tips and claims of sightings of
the three men the investigation went all the way to South America after a tipster
informed authorities that they saw the Anglin brothers in a bar in Brazil investigators visited the bar and
conducted multiple interviews with no result many tests have been conducted under
similar circumstances of the escape rafts made of raincoats have been sailed across the bay thousands of people have
successfully swum the distance between Alcatraz Island and the San Francisco mainland in varying conditions studies
of the Bayes currents have been inconclusive results depend on the exact time the men set sail from Alcatraz
Island something that will never be known various witnesses claimed to have met the men throughout the years but
without proof these statements can't be verified the escape triggered debate in discussions in Washington DC between
Congress and prison officials Alcatraz was created to be a deterrent to 1930s Public Enemy gangster crime The Times
had changed questions were asked if the prison had outlived its usefulness and become a dated relic of a time long ago
the prison was inspected and it was concluded that to fix the structural damage that would cost taxpayers
millions of dollars plus the cost of keeping an inmate in Alcatraz was upwards of $13 per day compared to $5
per day at other state prisons the interest in keeping Alcatraz prison opened was fading on December 17th 1962
six months after Morris and the Anglin brothers escaped two other inmates broke out of Alcatraz with only crude water
wings made out of blown-up surgical glove stuffed up the sleeves of their shirts
the inmates dived into the bay and started swimming one inmate was found clinging to a rock outcropping 100 feet
west of Alcatraz and recaptured but most damaging to the prison was the discovery
of the second escapee teenagers walking along the beach at Fort Point near the Golden Gate Bridge found at the unmoving
body of the second escaped inmate believing he was dead they contacted authorities who was shocked to discover
the inmate was actually still alive he had successfully swum across the bay from the prison this raised serious
doubts over prison officials previous claims that it was impossible for Mora saw the Anglin brothers tour survived a
swim to the mainland that ended up being the final escape attempt from Alcatraz prison within weeks the phase to close
the prison permanently began inmates were relocated to other state prisons in small groups including Allen
West who was transferred to McNeil Island in Washington he spent the remainder of his life in and out of
prison before he died in 1978 Alcatraz closed its doors on March 21st 1963 after 29 years of operation 1576
prisoners went through the prison during that time 36 attempted to escape 23 were
recaptured six were shot dead and four were confirmed drowned in San Francisco Bay as for the other three arrest
warrants are still active for Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers and they are still listed by the marshals as
Northern California's most wanted fugitives the investigation will continue until the escapees are arrested
confirmed deceased or when they reach the age of 99 if the men were alive today Frank Morris would be in his early
90s and the Anglin brothers would be in their late 80s [Music] thanks for listening to this week's
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Case 68: Escape from Alcatraz

Although Alcatraz Prison had since been repaired to a workable condition, the battle scars of Bernie Coy’s 1946 violent failed escape remained visible throughout the cell house.

Areas of the floor were chipped, cracked, and faded black from where grenades had detonated.

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Milly Raso Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

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RESOURCES

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Brief Summary

The episode details the 1962 Alcatraz escape by Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers, exploring their elaborate plan and the aftermath of their disappearance.

Key points

Inside the Mind of Cults. Exploring the psychology behind cults and what drives people to join them.
The Great Alcatraz Escape. A daring escape plan unfolds as inmates dig their way to freedom.
The Great Escape Plan. Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers devise an elaborate escape plan from Alcatraz.
The Escape Begins. On June 11, 1962, the inmates make their daring escape under the cover of darkness.
The Manhunt Begins. After the escape, one of the largest manhunts in U.S. history is launched.
The Mysterious Call. A mysterious phone call from someone claiming to be John Anglin raises questions.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I planned the entire escape.

Alan West's bold claim after the escape was discovered

6:50WatchNov 20, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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