ALCATRAZ PRISON ESCAPE CASE 1962
Three inmates managed to escape from the scariest prison in the world using a metal spoon. But after that, their fate was unknown and they were never seen again.
Alcatraz is an island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California, United States.
Alcatraz was originally a naval stronghold. During the US Civil War, Confederate prisoners of war were held there because the island was so isolated.
In the early 20th century, Alcatraz was rebuilt as a military prison.
In 1930, as the US tried to deal with the rampant organized crime that flourished during the Prohibition era, the Department of Justice took over.
Soon, the most fearsome inmates of the federal prison system begin to arrive.
Some of the famous criminals and murderers who were held there included gangsters Al Capone and Robert Stroud (who was later given the nickname "Birdman of Alcatraz")
On January 20, 1960, Frank Lee Morris was sent to Alcatraz after escaping from Louisiana Prison.
He is an experienced criminal who is considered very intelligent due to his high IQ. His name is on a number of charges such as robbery & drug possession.
Even shortly after he was transferred to Alcatraz, Frank began to think of ways to escape.
Frank was placed in a cell adjacent to brothers John and Clarence Anglin (convicted of bank robbery) and Allen West who had been inmates at Alcatraz since 1957.
John Anglin
Clarence Anglin
Allen WestUnder Frank's leadership, the four prisoners began to develop an elaborate escape plan.
Over several months, they cut a hole in the ventilation duct under the sink using a saw blade (found in the prison yard), a metal spoon (stolen from the dining room) and a drill made from a vacuum cleaner motor. They tunneled into a narrow, quiet passage behind the cells.
To mask the noise, Frank would deliberately play his accordion and cover holes in the walls with painted cardboard.
After successfully creating a hole large enough to crawl into the hallway behind the cell, they climbed to the top level of the empty cell block and set up a secret workshop there.
In the workshop they made floats and rubber boats from more than 50 stolen raincoats.
As they worked in the secret workshop, they had to hide their absence from the guards who periodically made checks at night.
So they made a fake papier-mâché head out of soap, toothpaste and toilet paper.
On the evening of June 11, 1962, after months of preparation. Finally they were ready to carry out the clever plan.
Leaving the doll's head on the bed to fool the guards, Frank and the Anglin brothers crawled out through a hole under the sink. Allen, meanwhile, failed to carry out his plan because he couldn't get out of his cell on time, so he preferred to continue his rest.
Meanwhile Frank and the Anglin brothers, they climbed onto the roof of the cell, ran across it while carrying a rubber boat.
Once in front of the guard tower, they slid down an external drainpipe, crossed the prison yard, climbed two 10-foot-high barbed wire fences in succession, and scrambled down a steep embankment to the island's northeastern shore. At the seashore they inflated their rubber boat and set off for their destination, Angel Island, two miles to the north.
Investigators believe they carried out the crime around 10 p.m.
The next morning their actions were discovered when an officer woke Frank up but his 'head' rolled off the bed.
The prison was immediately locked down with intensive searches in all buildings, including the accommodation for prison officers
The three of them's search efforts were unsuccessful.
3 days later, lifeguards found one of the paddles. 7 days later, several remains of rubber boats were also found on the Golden Gate Bridge. However, the fate of the three fugitives remains unknown.
Although no bodies were ever found, in 1979 they were finally declared legally dead. Authorities suspect they died by drowning.
The FBI closed the case and handed over responsibility to the US Marshals Service.
Alcatraz Prison closed in 1963, a year after the escape of three prisoners due to the structure deteriorating and the cost of running it.
The harsh prison regime has also long been controversial, with the result that many prisoners self-harm/murder.
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