Unsolved mystery of the 1962 Alcatraz escape attempt -'s memory board

Memories Team Alcatraz was located in the middle of San Francisco Bay area and was re-fortified into the "world’s most secure prison" in 1934. The upgrade included tougher iron bars, a series of strategically positioned guard towers and strict rules for monitoring prisoners whereabouts up to 12 times each day. From 1934 until the prison closed in 1963, a total of 14 seperate escape attempts were undertaken by 36 inmates. All men were caught or perished - the Anglin brothers and Frank Morris' escape is the only mystery.

Memories Team They escape plan was formulated under the leadership of Morris after he was assigned adjacent cells with the two brothers and a fourth inmate, Allen West, in December 1961. Morris encouraged each of the prisoners to use makeshift tools to remove an entire section of wall from their cells, giving them access to an unguarded utility corridor. The corridor took the inmates to the roof of their cell block, where they established a secret workshop to build and hide tools for their escape. The group took turns keeping watch for guards.

Memories Team The dummy head from Frank Morris’ cell had its nose broken when it rolled off the bed and struck the floor after a guard reached through the bars and pushed it. The prison immediately went into lockdown and an intensive search to find the inmates was started.

Memories Team Once in position, Morris and the Anglin brothers climbed onto a ventilation shaft then onto the roof. Hauling their gear with them, they used a kitchen vent pipe to descend 50 feet (15 m) to the ground. The trio then climbed two 12-foot (3.7 m) barbed-wire perimeter fences located at a blind spot in the prison's network of searchlights and gun towers. Investigators believe the inmates inflated their raft and launched it some time after 10pm.

Memories Team Together they used more than 50 raincoats to build a makeshift raft and life jackets, with the seams carefully stitched together and “vulcanized” using hot steam pipes in the prison. They also built wooden paddles and converted a musical instrument into a tool to inflate the raft.

Memories Team On the night the men began their escape, Allen West was delayed because the cement he had used to camouflage crumbling concrete around the hole in his cell wall had dried. By the time he was able to reach the roof, he realised the other three men were gone and decided to return to his cell. After the tunnel in his cell was located, West fully cooperated with investigators and gave them a detailed description of the escape plan. He was not punished for his role.

Memories Team The inmates sculpted paper mache heads - complete with real human hair - to fool the nightshift guards into thinking the men were asleep in their cells.

Memories Team Inmates Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin organised a prison break from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary on June 11, 1962. The three men were able to escape the maximum-security facility located on San Francisco Bay using a makeshift raft. It's unknown if the three inmates survived, with details of the escape still remaining a mystery.

Memories Team Family members of the Anglin brothers claim to have received unsigned postcards and messages over the years, with a Christmas card purportedly received in the family mailbox in 1962. “To Mother, from John. Merry Christmas,” the card read. The handwriting was verified as the one of the brothers, but experts could not determine when they had been delivered. Their mom also received flowers anonymously every Mother's Day until her death in 1973. It’s been reported “two very tall, unusual women in heavy makeup” attended her funeral before disappearing. When their father died, it was said “two strangers in beards showed up at the funeral home”. Federal officials say that in the mid-to-late 1960s and into the 1970s there were "six or seven" sightings reported of the Anglin brothers, all in north Florida or Georgia.

Memories Team The FBI officially closed its case on December 31, 1979. Investigators concluded the men were unlikely to have survived the escape, believing they would have drowned in the “strong currents and frigid San Francisco Bay water”. This theory was supported by information provided by the informant who said the four men had planned to steal clothes and a car once they hit land. “We never uncovered any thefts like this despite the high-profile nature of the case,” the FBI explained. The FBI added it had been unable to substantiate a theory suggesting the prisoners had been helped by their families, with investigators saying they “appeared unlikely to even have the financial means to provide any real support”. Finally, investigators said there has never been any credible evidence to suggest the men were still alive - either in the US. or overseas.

Memories Team An investigation on Unsolved Mysteries in 1989 saw a triathlete and three experienced kayakers paddle the same route as the inmates using a replica raft. The raft failed and the kayakers had to be rescued by a motorboat, however the swimmer made it to shore. Former Alcatraz inmate Thomas Kent told America's Most Wanted in 1993 that he had helped plan the escape, which saw them drive to Mexico. Kent claimed to have provided "significant new leads" to investigators and said he declined to participate in the actual escape because he could not swim. Officials were skeptical of Kent's claims after learning he had been paid US$2,000 for the interview.

Memories Team The FBI ended its investigation, but a case with the US Marshals Service remains active to this day. US Marshal Michael Dyke has previously said: "There's an active warrant and the Marshals Service doesn't give up." He has also previously expressed doubts over the FBI investigation's conclusion, which suggested the men had drowned in the water. Dyke supported his argument by saying the bodies of two out of every three people who go missing in San Francisco Bay are eventually recovered, but none of the three inmates have been found.

Memories Team Scientists at Delft University studied the escape in 2014 by analysing ocean currents. The team concluded the inmates could have reached land just north of the Golden Gate Bridge and that any debris released into the bay would have floated in the direction of Angel Island - consistent with where the paddle and belongings of the prisoners were actually found.

Memories Team The FBI confirmed the existence of a letter allegedly written by John Anglin in 2018. The letter claimed Frank Morris died in 2008 and was buried in Alexandria under a different name, and that Clarence Anglin died in 2011. He also claimed to have cancer and wanted to strike a deal with the FBI — offering to be locked up in exchange for medical care. The FBI reopened the case, but the source of the letter was later deemed inconclusive.

Memories Team In January 2020, an Irish creative agency teamed up with AI specialists to analyze the alleged 1975 photo of the Anglin brothers captured in Brazil. Using facial recognition techniques, a neural network was trained on past images of the brothers and confirmed with high confidence the men in the photo were John and Clarence. Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/30qL4BZ