Escape From Alcatraz: Did Morris and the Anglins Make It?

On the morning of June 12, 1962, guards at Alcatraz discovered that three prisoners were missing: Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin.

In their beds were dummy heads made from plaster-like materials, paint and real hair. Behind their cells were openings leading into a utility corridor. Above the cellblock was a concealed work area where the escape team had built equipment, including life preservers and a raft made from raincoats.

The prison break itself is not the mystery

Investigators reconstructed a detailed escape route. The men climbed through the service area, reached the roof, descended to the island’s edge and launched a homemade raft into San Francisco Bay.

A fourth conspirator, Allen West, did not get out in time and later provided investigators with information about the plan.

The water is where the evidence thins out

Searchers recovered material linked to the escape, including items associated with the makeshift flotation equipment. What they did not recover was a body conclusively identified as one of the three men.

The FBI spent 17 years investigating. Its view was that the men probably did not survive the cold water and currents. The Bureau pointed to the lack of verified later contact, the absence of expected thefts after landfall, and the hazards of the crossing.

Closed by one agency, not conclusively solved

The FBI formally closed its investigation at the end of 1979 and transferred responsibility to the U.S. Marshals Service. The Bureau’s own historical account still describes the fate of the three men as a mystery.

That is the responsible place to leave the file. There is evidence supporting the conclusion that they died. There is no publicly established proof of death that closes every question.