If you went back to the Summer of 1962, you would see one major headline. There were three men who tried to escape from the maximum security prison of Alcatraz. The three inmates that supposedly escaped were John Anglin, Clarence Anglin, and Frank Morris. Frank Morris has a long criminal history, starting back when he was just 13 years old. He was sent to Alcatraz for trying to escape a federal prison. The three met in the jail, after behaving well enough to earn privileges like going to the library. Allen West, who was the fourth man, couldn't get out on the day of the jailbreak. Frank Morris was the brains behind the operation, and the Anglin brothers were the muscle.
The plan took a long time to make, and it was very complex. On the night of the escape, the three inmates took papier-mâché, and old hair from the barber shop. They escaped through the hole in the wall of their cell block, and slid down the smokestack. Once on the roof, they grabbed a raft and jumped down. They climbed the fence, and used two planks to row the raft to Angel Island. The plan was to swim to Marin County and escape, but authorities don't know if that ever happened. They found the raft on Angel Island, and found footprints leading away from the raft. No one knows where they went, and the one of the largest FBI manhunts ensued. If they escaped, they evaded the FBI for a long time. Authorities aren't sure if it is a coincidence or not, but a car was stolen in Marin County. The FBI found no bodies, and the current was facing the wrong way to swim, but it is entirely possible. There was many reported sightings of bodies, but none were found. There is lots of evidence that the trio escaped, but we don't know if any of it is true.
The most recent piece of evidence on the cold case is a letter from John Anglin, who was one of the inmates that escaped. There were many letters like this, but none that contained factual information like this one. The letter states, "My name is John Anglin. I escape 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!" This letter was sent to the San Francisco Police Department in 2013. The department believes that they built what they needed in their cell, and hid it. The letter claims that Frank Morris died in 2008, and John Anglin died in 2011. The letter also states, " If you announce on TV that I will be promised to first go to jail for no more than a year and get medical attention, I will write back to let you know exactly where I am. This is no joke ..." There was also a photo that showed the brothers in Brazil 13 years after the escape. Jolen Babyk believes that the trio didn't escape, but the evidence is clear. Babyk's father was the acting warden at the time of the escape. The U.S. Marshall Service still cannot find conclusive evidence. They waited a year, but found nothing and it became another cold case.
News, CBS. "Alcatraz inmates survived infamous 1962 escape, letter suggests." CBS News. 24 Jan. 2018. 16 May 2019 <https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alcatraz-inmates-survived-infamous-1962-escape-letter-suggests/>.
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