The Baffling Story Of The 1962 Escape From Alcatraz And The Three Prisoners Behind It

On June 11, 1962, inmates Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin, and John Anglin became the only men to ever escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary — but nobody knows if they made it out of San Francisco Bay alive.

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary was thought to be escape-proof, but in 1962, three prisoners managed to sneak off the island.

Imagine thinking you’re locked up in a place so secure, not even Houdini himself could break out — that’s Alcatraz Island for you. Or at least, that’s what they thought until 1962. This fortress of steel and stone had a reputation for being inescapable. High walls? Check. Armed guards? Check. Located smack dab in the middle of San Francisco Bay? Oh, yes. But on that fateful night of June 11, Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers pulled off the ultimate prison break, leaving guards dumbfounded and the world buzzing with theories on whether they swam their way to freedom or to the bottom of the bay.

Alcatraz, The Nearly Inescapable Maximum Security Prison

Alcatraz Island in 1932, the year before the U.S. Department of Justice began transforming it into a federal penitentiary.

Alcatraz’s origin story goes back to the mid-19th century when it was just a lone island in the bay, later becoming a navy fortress and eventually housing military prisoners. Fast forward to 1933, the Department of Justice decided to upgrade this rock into a stronghold, and voilà, you have yourself the ultimate maximum-security prison. The sharp currents of San Francisco Bay were believed to be the perfect moat, deterring any thoughts of escape for nearly three decades… well, almost.

Inside The Daring 1962 Alcatraz Escape

Frank Morris, the ringleader of the 1962 Alcatraz escape.

Here’s Frank Morris, the brainiac with an IQ to rival Einstein’s. This career criminal decided that Alcatraz wouldn’t be his final zip code and concocted a plan so wild and meticulous, it deserves a Hollywood adaptation (seriously, someone get on that!). Morris and his ragtag team of cellmates — the Anglin brothers and Allen West, a car thief from New York — spent half a year channeling every bit of their criminal ingenuity into carving out a path to freedom.

Clarence Anglin and his brother John were the other two inmates who successfully escaped from Alcatraz in June 1962.

Forget diamond heists and bank robberies; these guys used stolen saw blades, spoons, and even an improvised drill from a vacuum cleaner to chisel their way through ventilation ducts. In classic cinematic style, Morris would play his accordion during