The Alcatraz Prison Break (1962)

Alcatraz Island, often called simply "The Rock," served as a federal prison from 1934 to 1963. It was designed to house some of the country's most dangerous high-ranking criminals, who had a reputation for inescapability due to the location of the facility in treacherous water, high humidity and freezing temperatures. The Coast Guard also closely monitored the waters around Alcatraz, ensuring that any attempts to escape by sea were immediately monitored and tracked. Located in the middle of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz Island was one of the most notorious maximum-security prisons in America. Despite its fearsome reputation, there was a daring escape in 1962 that would go down in history as one of the most remarkable prison break attempts ever.

    

John                                   Frank                                  Clarence

On the night of June 11, 1962, three inmates—Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin—made their escape from Alcatraz. The men had spent months meticulously planning their getaway. The three men fled the island on an improvised inflatable raft to an unknown fate late on June 11 or early on June 12, tucking made up heads resembling their own likenesses into their beds before escaping the main prison building through ventilation ducts and an abandoned utility corridor. They created life vests and a makeshift raft from raincoats, which they used to navigate the icy waters surrounding the island. A fourth conspirator, Allen West, failed in his escape attempt and remained on the island.

The escape was well planned. To access the water, the inmates used sharpened spoons to chisel away the vent openings at the back of their cells. They concealed their absence by placing dummy heads made of plaster, soap, and real human hair in their beds to fool the guards during nighttime headcounts. When the holes were large enough to pass through, the guys entered the unsecured utility corridor directly behind their cells' tier and climbed to the cellblock's vacant top level, where they set up a covert workshop. Here, using over fifty raincoats among other stolen and donated materials, they constructed life preservers, a six-by-fourteen-foot rubber raft, the seams carefully stitched by hand and sealed with liquid plastic available in the shops. Paddles were improvised from plywood and screws Finally, they climbed a ventilation shaft to the roof and removed the rivets holding a large fan in place.

Soon after lights out, the trio started their risky adventure. They were about a mile and a half from the mainland when they began paddling their improvised raft through the chilly, dark waters. The inmates' fate was unknown which sparked a nationwide manhunt. Authorities searched the area, questioned witnesses, and pursued leads, but no solid proof of their whereabouts could be found. Officially, the inmates were declared drowned and assumed dead.

Due to the effective dummy head distraction, the escape was not detected until the morning of June 12.Over the next ten days, multiple military and law enforcement agencies conducted comprehensive air, sea, and land searches. On June 14, a Coast Guard cutter saw a paddle floating about 200 yards off Angel Island's southern shore. Shreds of raincoat material, thought to be raft remnants, were discovered on a beach near the Golden Gate Bridge on June 21. A prison boat picked up a deflated life jacket made of the same material 50 yards off Alcatraz Island the next day. According to the final FBI report, no other physical evidence was found. 

The Alcatraz escape has left a trail of mysteries. Did the inmates make it to the mainland after surviving the dangerous waters? Or did they succumb in the freezing waters? Despite extensive investigations, the fate of the inmates remain unknown, fueling speculation and curiosity. Even though no conclusive ending to the inmates stories can be found, later developments and claims did suggest to some extent that they survived and reported sightings supported that claim .

The amazing Alcatraz prison breakout of 1962 continues to perplex the mind. The audacity of the escape strategy, the mystery surrounding the fate of the inmates, and the persistent stories surrounding The Alcatraz Prison Break stands as one of history's most amazing prison breakouts. While the official conclusion is that the escapees died, the fascination of the unknown endures, keeping the Alcatraz escape story alive in our memory. 

Clusters:

• Remote Island
• The plan
• The execution of the plan
• Evidence
• Aftermath