In December of 1961, Frank Morris, along with John & Clarence Anglin, and Allen West were assigned to cells adjacent of one another. Over the next six months, the men plotted an escape from Alcatraz. A feat that had been attempted before but the convicts either died trying to swim across the bay of San Francisco or were apprehended and returned to Alcatraz.

During the six months, all four men chipped away at a vent that was found beneath each sink until it was wide enough to allow them passage into the utility hall on the other side of the vent. To chip away at the walls, the men used discarded saw blades found lying about the prison grounds, spoons from the mess hall, and even a drill they manufactured out of a motor from a vacuum.

In order to hide their progress, they made a cardboard cutout of the original size of the vent and painted it so it would blend in with the walls. They used contact cement in order to adhere the cardboard to the wall. The noise of their work was covered by music hour in which they were able to dig with the sound of musical instruments masking the sounds of their digging.

Once the men made their vent holes large enough to pass through, they were able to meet above the utility hall in a vacant part of the prison where they were able able to set up a clandestine workshop unbeknownst to anyone else both guards and prisoners. To mask their absence when they were in the workshop at night, the men were able to make papier-mache heads that represented each of their own features. Hair was collected from the barber shop to use as wigs for the heads. Flesh colored paint was also used in disguising these heads.

In the workshop, the men were able to use raincoats they had stolen in order to make DIY life-jackets as well as a raft to use in the crossing of the bay. To inflate the jackets and raft, the men made a concertina with materials they were able to find. The men were going to escape through the roof of the prison by climbing a ventilation shaft above the workshop.

Now that the preparations were in place, it was time to escape. The men agreed to leave right after lights out in order to avoid an inmate count until the next morning.

Unfortunately, the cement Allen West had used hardened causing his vent cover to be difficult to remove. When West finally was able to remove the vent cover the other three men were already gone. He returned to his cell and slept until the next morning.

Once the guards discovered the three men had

Alcatraz Island was a federal penitentiary for nearly thirty years. During that time, there were 36 escape attempts: 23 were caught, 6 were shot and killed, and 5 are listed officially as “missing and presumed drowned.”

However, recent evidence has come up, suggesting that 3 of those who were presumed to have drowned -- John Anglin, Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris -- actually escaped.

So...did they drown in the process or make it out alive?

Let’s keep an eye on the guard’s patrol schedule, snag some waterproof gear, and dive into the waters surrounding Alcatraz!

Alcatraz Island -- More than just the setting of Michael Bay movies

Built on top of a fort in the early 1900s, the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary (often referred to as Alcatraz Island, Alcatraz, or if you’re Connery…”The Rock”) officially closed as a prison in 1963. Turns out that shipping prisoners to an island and having to feed, clothe, and guard them so far from civilization is a tad more expensive...who knew!

But during its heyday, the structure housed prisoners who continuously caused trouble at other federal prisons -- sort of a “last resort” for the worst of the worst. The place quickly gained a reputation as the toughest prison in America. Former prisoners noted brutality, inhumane conditions, and according to a former US Attorney General, “conductive to psychology that builds up a sinister ambitious attitude among prisoners.”

The remote location, the cold and strong currents of San Francisco Bay, and the increased security for the “worst of the worst” prisoners led many to believe that Alcatraz was escape-proof.

Not. So. Fast.

The Prison Break

There’s nothing quite like a clever prison break. And the one we found this week is INGENIOUS. The plan hatched by John Anglin, Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris (in prison for robbing banks) is so wild it feels like fiction.

For a year or so, the two Anglin brothers and Morris worked in secret, constructing their getaway materials above their cell. They sharpened a spoon, collected old raincoats from the laundry room and tied them together as a raft, and created paper maché versions of themselves (complete with paint and real human hair).

And on the night of June 11, 1962, they set their plan in motion.

They set up their homemade dummies under the blankets before they squeezed through the hole (that they’d carved via their spoon). Then they climbed up a piping system onto the roof.

On the top of the building, they ran across

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) — It is one of America’s greatest mysteries: What happened to three men after they pulled off a daring prison break Alcatraz in 1962?

Only the worst criminals were sent to Alcatraz. 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. And in the last 55 years, theories about their fate have multiplied as new evidence surfaces.

A letter allegedly written by one of the escapees recently came to light. KPIX 5 exclusively obtained it from a source.

“My name is John Anglin. I escape from Alcatraz in June 1962 with my brother Clarence and Frank Morris. I’m 83 years old and in bad shape. I have cancer. Yes we all made it that night but barely!”

The FBI says this is the most recent piece of evidence that forced the agency to reopen the iconic cold case. The letter was sent to the San Francisco Police Department’s Richmond station in 2013. “It’s interesting, I mean it’s obviously a very famous case here in San Francisco,” said KPIX 5 Security Analyst Jeff Harp.

Harp spent 21 years with the FBI, but did not work directly on this case.

“As a law enforcement person I’d like to think that their escape attempt was not fruitful for them. Personally, as someone who swims in the bay, and we have a triathlon that goes on every year, and there’s not a single person that doesn’t make that swim,” he added.

This past summer, we got an exclusive tour of some never-before-seen parts of Alcatraz. After months of meticulous planning – on the night of June 11, 1962 – the trio of bank robbers squeezed through the vents in the back of their cells.

The FBI says they used a homemade drill made from a broken vacuum cleaner motor to widen the vents. Once they crawled through, they climbed up a network of pipes and plumbing in a commonly unguarded space.

They set up a secret workshop on the top of their cells, where they built and hid what they needed to escape. They eventually made it out through the ventilator that led them to the prison roof. They slid down the smokestack to the ground and launched their raft – made of more than 50 raincoats. They also created life vests and wooden paddles.

The next morning, guards found dummy heads made of plaster, paper mache, paint and real human

ONE MILLION MINUTE

On April 19, 1989, an armored car in Eden Prairie, Minnesota was besiegedby a gang of armed robbers who quickly and efficiently relieved them of $1 million in roughly 60 seconds. While two stood guard with machine guns, a third put a (fake) bomb on the hood to encourage cooperation. The explosive rig was similar to one used in a robbery in Baltimore three years earlier. A year after the Eden Prairie heist, they struck a third time. In each case, no one was able to follow in pursuit, and the thieves were never caught. The FBI believed they were far from common criminals: Their protocol was so precise that authorities suspected they might have been heavily trained in ambush or attack scenarios, possibly as a result of entering the military.

ESCAPE OF ALCATRAZ

Of the many notorious prison escapes of the 20th century, none proved as unbelievable as the three men who fledfrom the isolated Alcatraz, located on an island in San Francisco Bay, on June 11, 1962. Anyone who could successfully navigate past their cells, armed guards, and fences would then have to swim miles to shore. Inmates Frank Morris and Allen West hatched a plan to do exactly that, and enlisted brothers John and Clarence Anglin to come along with them. West had discovered that access to the outside was possible if the prisoners pulled out the entire ventilation shaft under the sink in their cells rather than trying to cut through the bars blocking the shaft. By burrowing into the opening, they could make their way behind the cell wall and up to the roof by using the plumbing to climb up.

After eight months of surreptitious digging, the men (minus West, who had trouble getting into the ventilation shaft) had created paths to the roof. They placed dummy heads—made from soap and concrete, plus hair swiped from the prison barber shop—in their beds so that guards wouldn’t notice they were gone. Once on the outside, they blew up a raft they had made from raincoats using a concertina, an instrument similar to an accordion. Then they vanished.

The next morning, their bunks were discovered to be empty, and authorities began a manhunt. The raft was found, along with some personal effects, but no bodies were ever recovered. The case was closed in 1979, but got renewed attention in early 2018 when it was revealed a man claiming to be John Anglin had written to the San Francisco police department in 2013 claiming to be alive but in need of medical attention for a cancer diagnosis.

Alcatraz Island was a federal penitentiary for nearly thirty years. During that time, there were 36 escape attempts: 23 were caught, 6 were shot and killed, and 5 are listed officially as “missing and presumed drowned.”

However, recent evidence has come up, suggesting that 3 of those who were presumed to have drowned -- John Anglin, Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris -- actually escaped.

So...did they drown in the process or make it out alive?

Let’s keep an eye on the guard’s patrol schedule, snag some waterproof gear, and dive into the waters surrounding Alcatraz!

Alcatraz Island -- More than just the setting of Michael Bay movies

Built on top of a fort in the early 1900s, the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary (often referred to as Alcatraz Island, Alcatraz, or if you’re Connery…”The Rock”) officially closed as a prison in 1963. Turns out that shipping prisoners to an island and having to feed, clothe, and guard them so far from civilization is a tad more expensive...who knew!

But during its heyday, the structure housed prisoners who continuously caused trouble at other federal prisons -- sort of a “last resort” for the worst of the worst. The place quickly gained a reputation as the toughest prison in America. Former prisoners noted brutality, inhumane conditions, and according to a former US Attorney General, “conductive to psychology that builds up a sinister ambitious attitude among prisoners.”

The remote location, the cold and strong currents of San Francisco Bay, and the increased security for the “worst of the worst” prisoners led many to believe that Alcatraz was escape-proof.

Not. So. Fast.

The Prison Break

There’s nothing quite like a clever prison break. And the one we found this week is INGENIOUS. The plan hatched by John Anglin, Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris (in prison for robbing banks) is so wild it feels like fiction.

For a year or so, the two Anglin brothers and Morris worked in secret, constructing their getaway materials above their cell. They sharpened a spoon, collected old raincoats from the laundry room and tied them together as a raft, and created paper maché versions of themselves (complete with paint and real human hair).

And on the night of June 11, 1962, they set their plan in motion.

They set up their homemade dummies under the blankets before they squeezed through the hole (that they’d carved via their spoon). Then they climbed up a piping system onto the roof.

On the top of the building, they ran across

Alcatraz Island was a federal penitentiary for nearly thirty years. During that time, there were 36 escape attempts: 23 were caught, 6 were shot and killed, and 5 are listed officially as “missing and presumed drowned.”

However, recent evidence has come up, suggesting that 3 of those who were presumed to have drowned -- John Anglin, Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris -- actually escaped.

So...did they drown in the process or make it out alive?

Let’s keep an eye on the guard’s patrol schedule, snag some waterproof gear, and dive into the waters surrounding Alcatraz!

Alcatraz Island -- More than just the setting of Michael Bay movies

Built on top of a fort in the early 1900s, the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary (often referred to as Alcatraz Island, Alcatraz, or if you’re Connery…”The Rock”) officially closed as a prison in 1963. Turns out that shipping prisoners to an island and having to feed, clothe, and guard them so far from civilization is a tad more expensive...who knew!

But during its heyday, the structure housed prisoners who continuously caused trouble at other federal prisons -- sort of a “last resort” for the worst of the worst. The place quickly gained a reputation as the toughest prison in America. Former prisoners noted brutality, inhumane conditions, and according to a former US Attorney General, “conductive to psychology that builds up a sinister ambitious attitude among prisoners.”

The remote location, the cold and strong currents of San Francisco Bay, and the increased security for the “worst of the worst” prisoners led many to believe that Alcatraz was escape-proof.

Not. So. Fast.

The Prison Break

There’s nothing quite like a clever prison break. And the one we found this week is INGENIOUS. The plan hatched by John Anglin, Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris (in prison for robbing banks) is so wild it feels like fiction.

For a year or so, the two Anglin brothers and Morris worked in secret, constructing their getaway materials above their cell. They sharpened a spoon, collected old raincoats from the laundry room and tied them together as a raft, and created paper maché versions of themselves (complete with paint and real human hair).

And on the night of June 11, 1962, they set their plan in motion.

They set up their homemade dummies under the blankets before they squeezed through the hole (that they’d carved via their spoon). Then they climbed up a piping system onto the roof.

On the top of the building, they ran across