Escape from Alcatraz: The True Crime Classic

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This book gives some great history and tremendous anecdotes from those men who did time and who worked as correctional offers at Alcatraz. FBI agents surmised early on that the men had drowned. [33] They cited the fact that "the individuals' personal effects were the only belongings they had, and the men would have drowned before leaving them behind." However, no human remains were found at the time. [34]

In a 2019 episode of the series Mission Declassified, investigative journalist Christof Putzel corroborated much of the information released by the FBI and other sources, including the raft found on Angel Island. He quoted various reports mentioning a blue Chevrolet, of the same description as the one stolen after the escape, spotted in Oklahoma, [79] Indiana, [80] Ohio, [81] and South Carolina, where, three months after the escape, three men matching the escapees' description attempted to acquire a residence in the woods. [82] In popular culture [ edit ] years later, new evidence suggests 3 Alcatraz escapees may still be alive". WPIX-11. October 12, 2015 . Retrieved October 13, 2015. Sloate, Susan (April 1, 2008). Mysteries Unwrapped: The Secrets of Alcatraz. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4027-3591-2. Alcatraz Escape Part 6 of 17" (PDF). FBI Records: The Vault. p.52 . Retrieved May 27, 2019. ...said there were three white males in this car, all wearing blue dungarees. Family members of the Anglin brothers occasionally received postcards and messages over the years. Most were unsigned; one was signed "Jerry", and another "Jerry and Joe". [52] [53] The family also produced a Christmas card, purportedly received in the family mailbox in 1962, saying, "To Mother, from John. Merry Christmas." [54] Another of the Anglins' 11siblings, Robert, also said that sometimes the phone would ring and all that could be heard was breathing on the other end; Robert said, "I suppose all that could have been pranks, but maybe it was my brothers." [52] The mother of the Anglin brothers received flowers anonymously every Mother's Day until her death in 1973, and two very tall, unusual women in heavy makeup were reported to have attended her funeral. [52] Federal officials say that in the mid-to-late 1960s and into the 1970s there were "six or seven" sightings reported of the Anglin brothers, all in north Florida or Georgia. Robert said that in 1989, when the father of the Anglin brothers died, two strangers in beards showed up at the funeral home. According to Robert, "They stood in front of the casket looking at the body a few minutes ⁠— they ⁠⁠... wept ⁠— then, they walked out." [52]

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Ocean View Publishing Company. "A Brief History of Alcatraz, p. 5". Alcatrazhistory.com . Retrieved July 18, 2012. Also, towards the end of the book, the author dismisses all clues pointing to the idea that the trio survived as unconvincing, while all clues pointing towards death and failure, no matter how flimsy the clues, are regarded as believable. She also speculates that, had the men escaped, they would have immediately gone on a long, loud crime spree, and been caught. This speculation is a tad bizarre, considering the fact that the escapees were able to plan and carry out one of the most incredible escapes in history, and keep their mouths shut about their plans for years. Seems it’s in the author’s family DNA to underestimate the prisoners on Alcatraz. The character Charley Butts was based on a fourth inmate, Allen West, who did participate in the real escape but was left behind when he couldn't remove his ventilator grille on the night of the escape. He aided the FBI's official investigation of the escape. Amy Graff (October 12, 2015). "New claim: Alcatraz escapees might have survived. could still be alive". SF Gate . Retrieved October 13, 2015. Alcatraz Escape Part 12 of 17" (PDF). FBI Records: The Vault. p.52 . Retrieved May 27, 2019. ...a 1957 Chevrolet four-door, turquoise in color... .

FBI investigators announced their official position that, while it was theoretically possible for the men to have reached Angel Island, the odds of them having survived the turbulent currents and frigid waters of the bay were negligible. [24] According to the final FBI report, West said that they had planned to steal clothes and a car upon reaching land, but no such thefts were reported in the immediate area. [23] [24] Aftermath [ edit ] The sadness and the madness that surrounded the escape and the effect that it had upon the Anglin and Widner family afterward are a perspective no one could know without the insights shared from that family in this book. a b c d e f g h i McFadden, Robert D. (June 9, 2012). "Tale of 3 Inmates Who Vanished From Alcatraz Maintains Intrigue 50 Years Later". The New York Times. New York, NY . Retrieved June 9, 2012. The four inmates all knew each other from previous incarcerations in Florida and Georgia. [23] When they were assigned adjacent cells in December 1961, they began formulating an escape plan under the leadership of Morris. [24] Over the subsequent six months, they widened the ventilation ducts beneath their sinks using discarded saw blades found on the prison grounds, metal spoons from the mess hall, and an electric drill improvised from the motor of a vacuum cleaner. [25] The men concealed their work with painted cardboard, and masked the noise with Morris's accordion on top of the ambient din of music hour. [23] [24] Escapee's prison cell, with widened vent opening beneath the sink This is a fascinating story without a solution. The writer gives all the known facts and then offers several possible explanations. However, the author leaves it up to the reader to decide. Did three men escape Alcatraz or not?The book doesn’t change my opinion relative to their survival, but I enjoyed the research that went into profiling the men with the most complete account that has ever been written on exactly how the escape was accomplished. Jolene Babiak, whose father was warden also wrote a marvelous book on this subject and one I highly recommend. At the time I’d felt her work and the nauseam of documentaries fully satisfied my interest, but this book captured the history in a way that examined all theories without suggestive bias of the outcome. It used the clout of top experts and top-shelf research to form a narrative around the men who were involved or part of the FBI investigation. In 2018, the FBI confirmed the existence of a letter, allegedly written by John Anglin and received by the San Francisco Police Department in 2013. The writer asserted that Frank Morris died in October 2008 and was buried in Alexandria under a different name, and Clarence Anglin died in 2011. [77] His purpose in writing the letter, he said, was to negotiate his surrender in exchange for medical treatment of his cancer. [77] The letter's authenticity was deemed inconclusive. [78] The official investigation by the FBI was aided by another prisoner, Allen West, who also was part of the escapees' group but was left behind. West was unable to fit through his hole so he had to keep chipping to break through. When Morris and the Anglin brothers (John & Clarence) accelerated the schedule, West desperately chipped away at the wall; however, by the time he made it through the wall, his companions were gone. Hundreds of leads and theories have been pursued by the FBI and local law enforcement officials in the ensuing years, but no conclusive evidence has ever surfaced favoring the success or failure of the attempt. [ citation needed]

Later, Morris encounters two bank robbers and brothers John and Clarence Anglin, who are his old friends from another prison sentence, and he links up with prisoner Charley Butts. Morris notices that the concrete around the grille in his cell is weak and can be chipped away, which evolves into an escape plan. Over the next months, Morris, the Anglins, and Butts dig through the walls of their cells with spoons (which have been soldered into makeshift shovels), make papier-mâché dummies to act as decoys, and construct a raft out of raincoats. Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe (Prisoners AZ258 (Cole) and AZ260 (Roe)) had gradually filed through iron bars in the prison's mat shop in the industries building and escaped on a very foggy day, preventing them from being spotted by guards in the watch towers. The two jumped into the water and were never seen again, but the severe weather conditions at the time have led to a consensus that they drowned in the bay and their bodies were swept out to sea by the strong current in San Francisco Bay. However, they were listed as #1 and #2 on the FBI Most Wanted List.A byte out of history – Escape from Alcatraz". Federal Bureau of Investigation . Retrieved September 2, 2011. A solid, entertaining, at times even suspenseful account of the infamous (and brilliant) escape from Alcatraz in 1962. Babyak writes well, but occasionally loses the plot when she tries desperately to assign all blame over the breakout on the warden – an idea that is, frankly, a little ridiculous, considering the fact that he wasn’t personally in charge of supervising the inmates. In fact, the only prison official who gets a free pass in terms of blame is the author’s own father… years later, new evidence suggests 3Alcatraz escapees may still be alive". WPIX-11. October 12, 2015 . Retrieved October 13, 2015. Aaron Burgett and Clyde Johnson were working on the garbage detail when they overpowered a guard. Both jumped into the water, trying to swim off the island. The two men attempted to use inflated plastic bags as flotation devices, and Burgett tied wooden boards to his feet to serve as swim fins. A police launch intercepted Johnson, but Burgett disappeared. He perished in the attempt and his body was found floating in the bay near Alcatraz, two weeks later.