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Escape from Alcatraz: The Unsolved Case File

By the Undercurrent desk · Published · Updated

Video · 7:20 · Watch on YouTube

Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin left Alcatraz on June 11, 1962. Here is what the FBI, the U.S. Marshals and the record say, and what remains unknown.

The three were convicted of robbery, bank robbery and related offenses; they were never tried for the escape. The FBI says they most likely drowned. The U.S. Marshals kept the case.

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW: whether any of the three lived past that night. No letter, photo or card has been verified by the FBI or the Marshals.

Update ·

Could the raft work?

In 2003, MythBusters built a raft from similar materials and paddled to Angel Island. Dutch researchers modeled the Bay's currents: leaving between 11 p.m. and midnight, the men could have been carried toward the Golden Gate Bridge area. The FBI found a paddle off Angel Island and life vests, but no bodies and no confirmed sighting. Neither test shows they made it; both show it wasn't impossible.

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Update ·

The 2013 Letter

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Update ·

How They Got Out

For months, Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin widened the vents in their cells with sharpened spoons and a drill made from a vacuum-cleaner motor. They made more than 50 raincoats into life preservers and a raft. The FBI's own June 1962 report traces the route: utility corridor, roof, a large pipe, the fence, the water. Officers found them gone at 7:15 a.m.

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Chapters

  1. 0:00Escape from Alcatraz 1962: the case file
  2. 0:27Alcatraz escape 1962: Morris and the Anglins
  3. 1:08Alcatraz escape plan: vents, raft, dummy heads
  4. 2:20Alcatraz escape: what the FBI file shows
  5. 3:19FBI vs U.S. Marshals: why they disagree
  6. 4:22Could the Alcatraz escape work? The tests
  7. 4:55Alcatraz escape: the 2013 letter and claims

Sources

  1. FBI Vault, Alcatraz Escape (https://vault.fbi.gov/Alcatraz%20Escape)
  2. FBI history page
  3. KTVU and Fox News (2018 letter)
  4. CBS San Francisco (2015 cards and photo)
  5. History.com

The record · as of Nov. 10, 2026

How we know

Primary records are court and agency documents; reporting is news coverage we checked against them. How we report.

Verified timeline

  1. 1956-09-19Frank Morris was serving 14 years for bank burglary (Bank of Slidell, La., Nov. 24-25, 1955), sentence imposed Sept. 19, 1956.FBI Vault Part 02 p.38; USMS Morris profile/poster
  2. 1958-02-10John and Clarence Anglin were sentenced Feb. 10, 1958 for the Bank of Columbia (Ala.) robbery. FBI 1962 summary: John was serving a 10-year bank-robbery sentence; Clarence was serving 17 years for bank robbery and attempted escape (his 15 plus 2 added for the Oct. 8, 1960 Leavenworth bread-box attempt). USMS posters: John 10 years, Clarence 15 years. Supersedes the '35-year' line (Wikipedia/History), which no primary source supports.FBI Vault Alcatraz Escape Part 02 pp.39-41 (SF 76-2887); USMS profiled-fugitive pages + posters (read 2026-11-09)
  3. 1960John Anglin was sent to Alcatraz later in 1960 and Clarence Anglin followed in early 1961; all three knew each other from earlier prison terms (FBI). Exact days still differ by source; say 'late 1960' and 'early 1961'.FBI.gov famous cases page; ClickOnDetroit 2022-06-21; History.com
  4. 1960-01RESOLVES the arrival-year dispute: Frank Morris arrived at Alcatraz in January 1960 (inmate AZ-1441). FBI.gov famous-case page, History.com and WDIV/ClickOnDetroit all say January 1960; the FBI Vault 1962 summary's 'Jan. 18, 1961' reads as a typo. Day: Jan. 18 (Wikipedia) vs Jan. 20 (other secondaries); say 'January 1960'.FBI.gov famous cases page (2026-11-10); History.com; ClickOnDetroit 2022-06-21; Wikipedia
  5. 1961-12Per the FBI (from information inmate Allen West later gave), planning began in December 1961 when one of them found old saw blades; they drilled around the cell vents with tools including a drill made from a vacuum-cleaner motor and built a raft from 50+ raincoats in a hidden workshop above Cell Block B.FBI.gov famous cases page; History.com
  6. 1962-06A homemade life vest washed up on Cronkhite Beach (FBI spelling); extensive searches found nothing else there. FBI gives no date; Wikipedia says June 21.FBI.gov famous cases page; CNN/WTOP; Wikipedia
  7. 1962-06-11Night of June 11: Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin left their cells via vent openings, crossed the roof and went into the Bay on a raincoat raft; fourth inmate Allen West did not get out. FBI and BOP both give June 11. Approx. time (~9:30-10 pm) is Wikipedia-only.FBI; Bureau of Prisons; History.com; CNN/WTOP
  8. 1962-06-12Morning bed check found Morris and John and Clarence Anglin missing; dummy heads of plaster, flesh-tone paint and real hair were in their beds.https://www.fbi.gov/history/cases-and-criminals/alcatraz-escape; FBI Vault Part 02 summary report
  9. 1962-06-12Escape discovered the morning of June 12 when guards found dummy heads in the beds.FBI Vault memo and teletype dated 1962-06-12; Wikipedia; History.com
  10. 1962-06-14Within two days of the escape, a packet of letters sealed in rubber and tied to the men was recovered (FBI). History Hit and Wikipedia describe it as a wallet with Anglin family details found June 14. Attribute as 'the FBI says a packet of letters was recovered within two days'.FBI.gov famous cases page; History Hit; Wikipedia
  11. 1962-06-14A homemade paddle was recovered off Angel Island (FBI: 'a similar one was recovered on Angel Island'; Coast Guard find on June 14 per History Hit/Wikipedia). Paddle find confirmed; the June 14 day is secondary-only.FBI.gov famous cases page; CNN/WTOP 2025; History Hit; Wikipedia
  12. 1963-03-21USP Alcatraz closed after 29 years; BOP attributes closure to operating costs, not the escape.Bureau of Prisons; History.com
  13. 1979-12-31The FBI closed its case on Dec. 31, 1979 after 17 years, finding no credible evidence the men were alive and concluding they most likely drowned; the U.S. Marshals Service took over and kept the case open.FBI.gov ('17 years we worked on the case'); Global News 2022; KIRO7 2022; ClickOnDetroit (Dec 1979); CNN/WTOP
  14. 2013A letter signed 'John Anglin', postmarked in Southern California, was sent in 2013 to the SFPD Richmond station, claiming all three survived and the writer alone was still alive; it became public when KPIX obtained it in January 2018. The Marshals said the handwriting comparison was inconclusive and called the lead closed with no merit. Recipient = SFPD (CBS, KTVU, TIME; CNN/WTOP's 'FBI' is the outlier).CBS News 2018-01-24; KTVU 2018-01-25; TIME 2018-01; CNN/WTOP 2025 (conflict)
  15. 2014-12-16Delft University of Technology / Deltares researchers (Rolf Hut et al.) presented a Bay current model at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco (Dec. 16, 2014): leaving between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, the men could have landed just north of the Golden Gate Bridge (Horseshoe Bay); earlier departures would have carried them out to sea. A model, not proof. CONTRADICTION: CNN/WTOP 2025 says 11 p.m.-midnight; AP/Phys.org, NBC/Live Science and Wikipedia say 11:30-midnight (use 11:30). Live ep11 VO says 'between eleven p.m. and midnight'.AGU FM14 abstract; AP via Phys.org 2014-12; NBC/Live Science 2014-12; CNN/WTOP 2025; Wikipedia
  16. 2015-10-12A History Channel special (Oct. 2015; Oct. 12 per most listings, UPI says 'Monday, October 13') aired Christmas cards and a photo the Anglins' nephews (Ken and David Widner) said showed the brothers in Brazil in 1975. Retired Marshal Art Roderick was initially excited but later doubted the photo; the Marshals never verified it.UPI 2015-10-13; Fox News 2015-10; CBS San Francisco 2015; Wikipedia
  17. 2022-06Just after the 60th anniversary (week of June 20, 2022), the U.S. Marshals released FBI-made age-progressed renderings of Morris and both Anglins, then in their 90s if alive, and said the case remained open.ClickOnDetroit/WDIV 2022-06-21; PetaPixel 2022-06-21; Global News; KIRO7; Police1
  18. 2026-11-09As of Nov. 9, 2026 the U.S. Marshals' profiled-fugitive pages for Frank Lee Morris, John William Anglin and Clarence Anglin are live and read 'Wanted For Escape', warrant dated June 11, 1962, Northern District of California. Wikipedia's 'until September 2026' line is uncited (its precise claim is commented out as 'Official confirmation needed').usmarshals.gov profiled-fugitives pages (headless Chrome, 2026-11-09)

Also in our research file

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