The Great Escape from Alcatraz
In June 1962, a daring escape unfolded from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, a maximum-security prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. The masterminds behind this escape were Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, and Frank Morris, with Allen West as a collaborator who ultimately failed in his attempt to escape.
Frank Morris:
Born in Washington, D.C., Morris was orphaned at 11 and spent his childhood in foster homes. His criminal career started early; by his late teens, he had been arrested for narcotics possession and armed robbery. Notably intelligent, with an IQ placing him in the top 2% of the general population, Morris’s record included grand larceny and bank robbery. He was sent to Alcatraz in 1960 after escaping from the Louisiana State Penitentiary (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_1962_Alcatraz_escape_attempt).
John and Clarence Anglin:
Born in Georgia into a large family of seasonal farmworkers, the Anglin brothers moved to Florida, where they turned to crime. Initially caught for a minor offense, they eventually escalated to robbing banks as a team, always targeting closed businesses to avoid injuries. In 1958, after a bank robbery, they received 35-year sentences and were transferred to Alcatraz following multiple escape attempts from other prisons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_1962_Alcatraz_escape_attempt).
Allen West:
Born in New York City, West had a lengthy criminal history, including over 20 arrests. He was imprisoned for car theft and was transferred to Alcatraz in 1957 following an escape attempt from another facility (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_1962_Alcatraz_escape_attempt).
The escape plan, led by Morris, began to take shape in December 1961 when the four inmates, familiar with each other from previous incarcerations, found themselves in adjacent cells. Over six months, they meticulously widened ventilation ducts beneath their sinks using tools like discarded saw blades, metal spoons, and an improvised electric drill. They masked their activities with noise from Morris’s accordion and concealed their work with painted cardboard (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_1962_Alcatraz_escape_attempt).
Their preparation including creating lifelike dummy heads from a mixture of soap, toothpaste, concrete dust, and toilet paper. These heads, painted and adorned with real hair, were placed in their beds to fool the guards, while the inmates worked on their escape or, eventually, made their escape. The night of June 11, 1962, marked the culmination of their plan. However, West found himself unable to escape due to hardened cement around his ventilation duct. Left behind, he returned to his cell and slept through the night (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_1962_Alcatraz_escape_attempt).
Morris and the Anglin brothers successfully navigated their way out of their cells and into an unguarded utility corridor. They ascended to the prison’s roof, evaded detection, and descended to the ground. At the northeast shoreline of Alcatraz, a blind spot in the prison’s security, they inflated an improvised raft made from over fifty raincoats and other materials. They launched the raft after 10:00 p.m., aiming for Angel Island, two miles north. Despite extensive investigations and numerous theories, their ultimate fate remains a mystery (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_1962_Alcatraz_escape_attempt) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_1962_Alcatraz_escape_attempt).
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