They made their way down a pipe, climbed two barbed wire fences and placed the boat into the waters. Ventilator cover on the roof of the Alcatraz prison through which the inmates made their escape. Many historians and law enforcement officials believe the men drowned in the bay. However, no bodies were ever found.
Here's the catch, though: No one knows what happened to the escapees. When pieces of the raft and paddles washed up near the island, many assumed that the men were dead. Alcatraz officials have suggested they drowned or died of hypothermia.
The 1962 escape is probably the most famous prison break in American history, and the three men involved have never been located, dead or alive.
Last week, the U.S. Marshals Service released new age-progressed images of the inmates: Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin and his brother, John Anglin, who would all be in their 90s today. The three convicted bank robbers escaped from "The Rock" in June of 1962 by climbing through the prison's vent systems.
They weren't discovered missing until the next morning. The convicted bank robbers may have drowned in the attempt but no bodies have ever been found and the Anglin brothers allegedly had their photo taken at a bar in Brazil in 1975, according to the family. The FBI has not authenticated the photo, KGO-TV reported.
Frank Morris, John Anglin, and his brother, Clarence Anglin have never been located since escaping the facility — which was at some point home to criminals like Al Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly and Robert Stroud.
Frank passed away in October 2005. His grave is in Alexandria under another name.
Clarence Victor Carnes (January 14, 1927 – October 3, 1988), known as The Choctaw Kid, was a Choctaw man best known as the youngest inmate incarcerated at Alcatraz and for his participation in the bloody escape attempt known as the "Battle of Alcatraz".
Frank Lucas Bolt. Little has been documented about Alcatraz's LGBTQ+ prisoners, but gay men did play a role in the infamous prison. In fact, it was a queer man, Frank Lucas Bolt, who served as the prison's first official inmate.
And for 29 years, it was the most secure federal prison in the country -- surrounded by the cold, rough waters of the Pacific. But brothers John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris disappeared into the night and have never been found. The men have become folklore -- fueled by Hollywood and popular shows.
While awaiting the results of appeals, Capone was confined to the Cook County Jail. Upon denial of appeals, he entered the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, serving his sentence there and at Alcatraz.
Crossing from Alcatraz to San Francisco is not as challenging as one may think based on popular lore about sharks and freezing waters. In fact, sharks in San Francisco Bay are exceedingly rare, and wetsuits minimize the physical impact of the frigid waters. Still, swimming from Alcatraz is no joke.
A fourth conspirator, Allen West, failed in his escape attempt and remained on the island. Hundreds of leads were pursued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and local law enforcement officials in the ensuing years, but no conclusive evidence has ever surfaced favoring the success or failure of the attempt.
The U.S. Marshals Service released updated renderings of what missing Alcatraz fugitives would look like with hopes to put them back behind bars.
Some of the most famous prisoners included Al Capone, George 'Machine Gun' Kelly and Robert Stroud, the 'Birdman of Alcatraz'. During my last visit, I found this sign in the ferry waiting area.
Eventually, they killed the three remaining men, Cretzer, Hubbard and Coy, the ringleader. Two prison guards were killed in the battle, with 14 more wounded. Two of the prisoners who gave up after the lock to the yard door was broken, Shockley and Thompson, were executed in a gas chamber for their role in the attempt.
Bill Baker is part of that living history. He was Alcatraz prisoner number 1259. He is now 89 years old and one of the last surviving former inmates of Alcatraz.
Punishment at Alcatraz was extreme. At the dungeon, prisoners were chained up standing in total darkness, often with no food and regular beatings. These punishments often lasted for as long as 14 days and by 1942, the dungeon was found to be unnecessarily cruel and closed.
How many people died while at Alcatraz? There were eight people murdered by inmates on Alcatraz. Five men committed suicide, and fifteen died from natural illnesses. The Island also boasted it's own morgue but no autopsies were performed there.
Alphonse "Scarface" Capone.
Al Capone died of cardiac arrest in 1947, but his decline began earlier. After his transfer to Alcatraz prison, his mental and physical condition deteriorated from paresis (a late stage of syphilis). He was released in November 1939 and was sent to a Baltimore mental hospital before he retired to his Florida estate.
The Alcatraz prison closed for numerous reasons, one being the cost. Because the prison was on an island, it was more expensive to get supplies there. Another reason the prison was closed was that the building was being eroded by salt water.
Narrated by Danny Trejo, the true story, based on a deathbed confession, about what really happened to Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers who escaped from Alcatraz Prison in 1962.
Morris has received numerous awards over the years, including having been named “Father of the Year,” by the Chicago Defender and recipient of the Superior Honor Award by the Department of State. He and his wife have four children.