Inside Alcatraz: How 3 Inmates Broke Out Of ‘The Rock’ — A Prison Once Considered Inescapable

A convicted armed robber and bank-robbing brothers spent months planning their daring flight to freedom.

Frank Morris [left], Clarence Anglin [middle], and John Anglin [right].

On the morning of June 12, 1962, staff at Alcatraz, a maximum-security federal prison located on an island one and a half miles off downtown San Francisco, discovered three inmates missing: convicted armed robber Frank Morris and bank-robbing brothers John Anglin and Clarence Anglin.

Photo by: U.S. Marshals Service

U.S. Marshals Service

By: Aaron Rasmussen

On the morning of June 12, 1962, staff at Alcatraz, a maximum-security federal prison located on an island one and a half miles off downtown San Francisco, discovered three inmates missing: convicted armed robber Frank Morris and bank-robbing brothers John Anglin and Clarence Anglin.

In the escapee’s beds laid papier mâché heads covered with flesh-colored paint and real human hair. Guards locked down Alcatraz, a prison once believed to be inescapable, and launched a manhunt for the missing men.

The three prisoners were never located, and debate rages to this day whether the trio drowned in the strong currents and frigid waters in San Francisco Bay or made it to safety.

According to prison officials, Morris and the Anglin brothers spent months planning and executing the daring breakout. The three used spoons and other utensils to slowly and methodically chip away at an 8-inch grill in their cell walls. The prisoners eventually enlarged the openings — camouflaged with fake papier mâché bars when they weren’t chiseling — and they were able to fit through.

On the evening of June 11, the men shimmied out of their cells through the vents. They used pipes to scale the wall of the interior utility corridor behind the cellblock. After going through a ventilator pipe that led to the prison’s roof, the men slid down a drain pipe, cut and scaled barbed wire fences and reached the island’s shore. Officials believe the men launched a raft into the cold waters that they had constructed by gluing together dozens of rubberized raincoats.

According to Britannica, a fourth conspirator, Allen West, was unable to escape with Morris and the Anglins because he couldn’t get out of his cell fast enough. He later told investigators how guards had assigned him to paint the prison’s rooftop but left him unattended, allowing him to help secretly construct the raft.

The three escapees were never found — dead or alive — and the case continues to intrigue both law enforcement officials and armchair detectives more than 60 years later.

“We just don't give up looking for anybody,” now-retired U.S. Marshals Service Supervising Deputy Mike Dyke told CBS News in 2011. “I think probably the brothers lived... but there's a chance that all three of them could have lived and they just split up once they left. There's no body recovered.”

According to Dyke, FBI documents show that “there was possibly a raft recovered on Angel Island ... the day after the escape — and one of them mentioned footprints leading away from the raft.”

Investigators “came across an oar, a paddle...right off the coast, about 50 yards from the shore of Angel Island,” he continued. “They determined the oar was made on Alcatraz. There was one oar left behind and this one was an exact match.”

Dyke said there was a “chance” the escaped inmates survived, but law enforcement officials can't definitely rule one way or the other if they lived or died while fleeing. “That's why we still have the warrants for them,” Dyke noted.

If they’re still living, Morris and the Anglin brothers would all be in their 90s as of 2023.

After nearly 30 years in operation, Alcatraz closed in March 1963. The island is now a tourist attraction.

Next Up

How Did The Teen “Bling Ring” Manage To Rob Celebs Of Millions?

Seven LA teens and young adults were accused of robbing multiple celebrity homes in 2008 and 2009.

Accident Or Something More Sinister? Inside The Death Of Elisa Lam At L.A.’s Cecil Hotel

The 21-year-old Canadian tourist’s body was found floating in a rooftop water tank weeks after she disappeared.

Golden Gate Bridge Mystery: Where's Sydney West?

The Find Sydney West website, dedicated to finding the missing 19-year-old, announced a $25,000 reward to help find her. Sydney stands 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs around 130 pounds.

Skye Budnick’s Sister Still Searches For Answers 15 Years After She Went Missing In Japan

A college student with a one-way ticket to Japan was never heard from again.

California Man Texted 911 For Help Before Vanishing In 2021, His Remains Have Now Been Found

Beau Mann texted 911 for help from his Uber in November 2021, and was never heard from again. Nearly a year and a half later, his body was found at an abandoned property in the Los Angeles area.

After Nearly 3 Decades In Solitary Confinement, Texas Prisoner Seeks Court's Help

Convicted robber Dennis Wayne Hope was captured shortly after he escaped prison in 1994 and put in isolation—where he remains to this day.

Police Identify Remains Of Murdered California Woman After More Than 30 Years

Marina Ramos and her two small children disappeared in the late 1980s. Police finally identified a body found in Mohave County as Ramos, but her two daughters remain missing.

Florida Man Exonerated After Serving 34 Years Of 400-Year Sentence For Armed Robbery

“I can’t have hate, just have to keep moving,” Sidney Holmes says of his wrongful conviction in the 1980s.

Mohave County Sheriff Searching For Suspect And Victim’s Two Young Children From 1989 Case

If you know anything about this case, the Mohave County Sheriff would like for you to contact them directly: 928-753-0753 ext. 4408.

Louisiana Woman Disappears While Road Tripping To Colorado To Start New Life

“Our family will never give up looking for our daughter,” the parents of Caitlyn Rose Case say.