When Alcatraz was created, it was seen as inescapable, and no one imagined that it would ever be possible. Since it was on its own private island, that made sense. Therefore, when the San Francisco Police Department received a confession letter sent in 2013, they were shocked. It detailed how four of the criminals inside did it! This is how they did it.
The Story of Alcatraz
About one mile from the San Francisco shore sits an island that houses dangerous criminals. It’s called Alcatraz, and it is the famous prison with tough criminals. Though it’s called the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, it used to be a lighthouse and military base.
The Story of Alcatraz
The Inescapable Fortress
Developers needed a place that was impossible to escape from. Clearly, they required the prisoners to stay inside. Even crafty ones couldn’t be allowed to roam free and terrorize the surrounding neighborhoods.
The Inescapable Fortress
Why It Was Perfect
Alcatraz was an island, so it was surrounded by cold and deep water. Even if prisoners escaped the walls, they’d still have to swim ashore, and that was dangerous. Though the prison closed in 1963, it’s remembered for being harsh. How did the prisoners escape?!
Why It Was Perfect
Those Who Dared
The stars of this story weren’t the only ones who attempted escape. However, the others weren’t successful. Throughout the years, 23 criminals tried, but they were captured and taken back to their cells. The guards weren’t happy with them, and they got more consequences.
Those Who Dared
Shot Dead
Though 23 prisoners tried to escape and were returned to their cells, others had a worse fate. Six prisoners were shot dead while trying to escape. The guards showed no mercy, and shooting was the best choice because no one wanted them off the island.
Shot Dead
Drowned
Five prisoners made it to the water but drowned. They had few options, and swimming was one of them. Whether the water was too cold or they were poor swimmers doesn’t matter. They weren’t seen again. The four who made it faced those realities.
Drowned
Meet the Protagonists
The four men who managed to escape were named Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, Frank Lee Morris, and Allen West. Clarence and John were brothers and met Frank while at a different prison. Therefore, they trusted him, and Allen’s cell was close to the trio.
Meet the Protagonists
Meet Frank
Frank Morris was a career criminal and went to Alcatraz because of his long history of crimes. He went into the foster care system as a child and got his first conviction at age 13. This spiraled into many more.
Meet Frank
Roughest Prisons
Frank was involved in armed robberies, too. Therefore, he’d been to some of the toughest prisons in the country, seemingly moving around them. However, he escaped from a Louisiana one, which brought experience to the team of escapees.
Roughest Prisons
The Anglin Brothers
The Anglin brothers were notorious for bank robberies, but they weren’t violent. They only hoped to get large amounts of cash. It took a while to catch them, and they ended up in an Atlanta prison, where they met Frank. This trio had common interests.
The Anglin Brothers
Prior Escapes
Frank had escaped from the Atlanta Penitentiary, so the Anglin brothers tried to do so, too. However, they weren’t successful. They were relentless in trying to get out of prison, which brought them to the most secure and cruel one – Alcatraz.
Prior Escapes
Pairing with Frank
The Anglin brothers were happy about being in Alcatraz because it meant pairing with Frank. Their breakout dreams could become a reality. However, they required one more member of their party before they could create a plan.
Pairing with Frank
Meet Allen
Allen West had also been convicted of crimes such as robbery and grand larceny. He’d tried escaping before and had charges filed in many states. At the time, he was sentenced to life in prison and was much more violent than the others. The trio ended up leaving him behind!
Meet Allen
Preparing to Escape
All four members of this team weren’t initially considered violent, so the guards didn’t watch them as closely as they otherwise would have. Therefore, they had a bit more privacy. This was good because they needed supplies unavailable to inmates to make the escape.
Preparing to Escape
Factory Work
Luckily, all four men worked at a factory attached to Alcatraz. Therefore, they had access to the pieces they’d need for escape. Part of the plan required taking those items and turning them into something amazing and special.
Factory Work
The Decoys
The Anglin brothers were crafty, using soap and toilet paper to create dummies. They collected hair from the Alcatraz barber shop. Basically, the guards wouldn’t suspect they were gone from the cells. It took a while to make, and the team realized it wouldn’t last long.
The Decoys
Through the Walls
Alcatraz had cement walls. With time, it could be chipped and eroded away. The convicts collected cafeteria spoons and turned them into makeshift picks. That’s what they used to slowly remove the cement from the walls.
Through the Walls
Tedious and Effective
Though it was effective, it was quite tedious because it required patience to chip away at those walls. The inmates could listen to music at night, which covered up the sounds they made. In fact, Frank used an accordion to mask the sounds.
Tedious and Effective
Too Easy
Cement isn’t necessarily easy to chip away, but there were vents in the walls, which created a hole to start with. They simply went into the vents and chipped from the inside. Plus, the cement was weak because it was surrounded by moisture all the time.
Too Easy
The Plan
Inside the walls and vents, there was a small utility corridor. Clearly, there were no guards watching over that because prisoners were supposedly unable to reach that area. It was the perfect setup!
The Plan
Get to the Roof
By going through the utility corridor, they could get to the roof of the prison. However, the holes were tight, and these were large men. They had to navigate carefully. After testing various shafts, they found the way and got ready with the next portion of the plan.
Get to the Roof
Loose Ends
The escapees had to plan each part carefully because they’d only get one shot at escape. They could rush up to the roof, but what would happen next? These men had to be prepared for anything, so they started creating a passageway and coming up with more solutions.
Loose Ends
More Materials
Before the escape, the team had to steal more materials from the factory. That meant they could create a raft that would be very handy once they got onto the water. What else did they think of to make it safer and easier?
More Materials
Life Preservers
They had already thought of the raft, but they also added life preservers to it to ensure their safety. They undoubtedly heard the many escape attempt stories of people drowning, and they didn’t want to be lost in the cold waves!
Life Preservers
Time to Go
Allen West was actually the last person to complete his tunnel, and it took months before they coordinated a time to escape. In their heads, they planned to shimmy out and get to the roof. Then, they’d climb to the shore and use the raft to escape, but that didn’t happen.
Time to Go
Something Goes Wrong
The men all started to leave their cells and go into the tunnels made out of their respective walls. Things went well for a while. However, Morris and the brothers made it out and realized something was wrong!
Something Goes Wrong
Allen’s Gone
Allen wasn’t there with them. He had gotten stuck in the wall because he hadn’t made his hole large enough. They could have waited for him to make it just right, but he hadn’t informed the trio. Instead, he was trapped in the cement!
Allen’s Gone
Leaving Allen
The team really didn’t want to leave Allen behind and tried to help him free himself from the cement. However, it was time to make a hard decision. If they didn’t head out now, they’d never get to do so.
Leaving Allen
Don’t Want to Get Caught
They had moved along too far, so if they waited to pull out Allen, they would surely get caught. West knew he had messed up and stayed back so that the team could move on with the plan and succeed. He’d end up living vicariously through his friends.
Don’t Want to Get Caught
The Show Has to Go On
When the men got to the utility corridor, they went up to the roof, climbing down the other side. It wasn’t easy, and they had to shimmy down various pipes before getting to the ground. Next, they snuck past the guards, but now came the difficult part!
The Show Has to Go On
Where the Others Got
Previous would-be escapees had gotten this far, too. However, they hadn’t been able to get across the ocean, which separated them from their freedom. The men stared into the night and inflated the rafts.
Where the Others Got
Goodbye to Allen
The three men got away from the shore and actually made it through the ocean waters. Interestingly enough, it might have been the best choice to leave Allen behind. There was much less weight on the raft. What happened to Allen, though?!
Goodbye to Allen
Wake Up Call
The other Alcatraz prisoners wouldn’t learn of the escape until the next day. In fact, the trio did everything seamlessly, so the guards didn’t even know something had happened until the following morning. It shocked them all!
Wake Up Call
The Key Is Allen
Frank and the Anglin brothers had completely made it off the island by morning. The truly amazing part is that Allen West was the only one who knew the story from beginning to near the end. Much more happened to him on that night!
The Key Is Allen
Allen’s Escape
Eventually, Allen revealed the events that transpired that night. According to the story, his team indeed left him behind. They had to slip away while it was possible. However, Allen continued trying to squeeze through and eventually made it.
Allen’s Escape
Too Late
Allen tried to run after the team, but it was late. They’d already left on the raft. Therefore, he had to get back to the cell. His only other option was to swim across the ocean, and he knew he wouldn’t make it. He had a lot of questions to answer.
Too Late
Searching the Cells
Once the news got out that people had escaped, the prison was searched completely to ensure that no one else had means of getting out. This is how the guards found the holes in the walls and discovered that Allen was part of it all.
Searching the Cells
Telling What He Knows
Allen worked with the police officers, telling them what he knew of the plan. However, he had no clue what had happened to them after they left him, so he couldn’t be much help. The cops had to investigate to determine if the men had made it across the ocean!
Telling What He Knows
Investigation
There was an investigation by the local police force, but they never found a sign of the men. It seemed plausible that they’d drowned while attempting to cross the ocean, but there was no proof of that.
Investigation
Coverup
About 17 years later, the police closed the investigation and told the public that those men had drowned. They wanted it to seem like their escape hadn’t been successful. However, John Anglin wrote the police a letter in 2013, explaining the truth and proving the coverup wrong!
Coverup
