Believed to be nearly escape-proof, the island prison Alcatraz, situated in San Francisco Bay, was proven once again to be escapable by a trio of prisoners in June of 1962. It is not known, however, if any of the three men survived the attempt.
Brothers Clarence and John Anglin and a man named Frank Morris were prisoners at Alcatraz for crimes ranging from bank robbery and narcotics possession to armed robbery. The trio, along with another prisoner named Allen West, concocted an escape plan that was many months in the making. The first step was to dig around the ventilator grills on the back walls of their cells. Once through the holes behind the grills, they would crawl up shafts to the roof, and then scramble down to the rocky shoreline.
On June 11th, the plan was put into action. The Anglins and Morris went up onto the roof without West, whose access to the roof was blocked.
The three left behind dummy heads they had made from soap and toilet paper and hair from the barbershop. These were realistic enough to fool the guards making bed-checks during the night.
Once off the roof, the trio inflated a make-shift raft they had made from prison raincoats. They had borrowed some of the coats and stolen others to get enough of them to bond together with glue stolen from the prison’s glove-making shop. Then they floated out into the night.
Nothing more is known of the threesome, although several subsequent facts seem to indicate that they perished in their escape attempt. For example: according to West, once ashore, the men’s plan was to rob a clothing store and then steal a car to make their getaway. But no stolen cars or clothes were reported after the escape attempt. Additionally, a variety of personal items that belonged to the men was later found floating in the bay, as was a hand-made life preserver. And, one month later, some of the crew on board an outgoing freighter believed they spotted a body floating in the bay, but this was never verified and no dead body was retrieved or washed up on shore.
On the other hand, an episode of the television show “Mythbusters” recreated the escape attempt using identical materials to the escapees’ raft. They successfully paddled to shore, proving that such an escape was indeed possible.
After years of searching, the FBI closed their investigation into the case on December 31, 1979, although the U.S. Marshals Service would continue to look for the trio.
The ultimate fate of the three men made famous for their 1962 Alcatraz escape is unknown.
Kesi ya Alcatraz, gereza la kisiwa cha San Francisco, lilipatikana mnamo Juni 1962 na kuonekana kuwa na uwezekano wa kutoroka. Hata hivyo, haijulikani ikiwa yeyote kati ya wanaume hao watatu aliokoka jaribio hilo. Ndugu Clarence na John Anglin na mwanamume aitwaye Frank Morris walikuwa wafungwa katika gereza la Alcatraz kwa makosa mbalimbali, kuanzia wizi wa benki na kuwa na dawa za kulevya hadi wizi wa silaha. Tatu hao, pamoja na mfungwa mwingine aitwaye Allen West, walipanga mpango wa kutoroka ambao ulichukua miezi mingi. Hatua ya kwanza ilikuwa kuchimba kuzunguka grills ya ventila ya kuta za nyuma za seli zao. Baada ya kuvuka mashimo yaliyo nyuma ya magurudumu, waliruka juu hadi kwenye paa, kisha wakashuka hadi kwenye ufuo wenye miamba. Mnamo Juni 11, mpango huo ulifanywa. Familia ya Anglins na Morris walipanda juu ya paa bila West, ambaye alikuwa amefungwa kuingia kwenye paa. Wote watatu waliacha vichwa vya bandia walivyofanya kwa sabuni na karatasi ya choo na nywele kutoka kwenye duka la kunyoa. Hizi zilikuwa za kweli vya kutosha kuwapotosha walinzi waliofanya ukaguzi wa kitanda wakati wa usiku. Mara tu walipoondoka kwenye paa, watatu hao walipiga hewa kwenye mtumbwi wa muda ambao walikuwa wameufanya kwa mavazi ya mvua ya gereza. Walikuwa wamekopa baadhi ya makoti hayo na kuiba mengine ili kupata kiasi cha kutosha cha kuunganisha pamoja kwa gundi iliyoibwa kutoka kwenye duka la kutengeneza glavu la gereza. Kisha wakaelea nje usiku. Hakuna jambo lingine linalojulikana kuhusu watu hao watatu, ingawa mambo kadhaa yaliyoonwa baadaye yaonekana kuonyesha kwamba walikufa walipokuwa wakijaribu kutoroka. Kwa mfano: kulingana na West, mara moja pwani, mpango wa wanaume huo ulikuwa kuiba duka la nguo na kisha kuiba gari ili kutoroka. Lakini hakuna magari au nguo zilizokuwa zimeibiwa zilizoripotiwa baada ya jaribio la kutoroka. Zaidi ya hayo, vitu mbalimbali vya kibinafsi vilivyomilikiwa na wanaume hao vilipatikana baadaye vikielea katika ghuba hiyo, kama vile koti la kuokoa uhai lililotengenezwa kwa mikono. Mwezi mmoja baadaye, baadhi ya wafanyakazi wa meli ya kubebea mizigo waliamini kuwa waliona mwili ukielea kwenye ghuba, lakini hilo halikuweza kuthibitishwa na hakuna maiti iliyopatikana au kuharibiwa pwani. Kwa upande mwingine, kipindi cha kipindi cha televisheni <unk>Mythbusters<unk> kiliunda upya jaribio la kutoroka kwa kutumia vifaa sawa na rafti ya wakimbizi. Walifaulu kuvuka maji na kufika pwani, na hivyo kuthibitisha kwamba kutoroka huko kulikuwa kwa kweli kunawezekana. Baada ya miaka mingi ya uchunguzi, FBI ilifunga uchunguzi wake wa kesi hiyo Desemba 31, 1979. Huduma ya Marshals ingeendelea kutafuta watatu hao. Watu watatu waliofahamika kwa kutoroka kutoka Alcatraz mwaka 1962 hawajulikani.