June 1962 Alcatraz escape facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 
Alcatraz, with Angel Island (the fugitives' intended destination) in background, San Francisco Bay, March 1962
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| Date | June 11, 1962 |
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| Time | Approximately 9:30–10:00 p.m. (UTC–7) |
| Location | Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Outcome |
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On the night of June 11, 1962, three men named Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin did something incredible. They escaped from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Alcatraz was a very tough prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, California, United States. For six months, they secretly planned their escape. They even made fake heads out of paper to put in their beds! This made it look like they were sleeping. They got out through air vents and a hidden hallway. Then, they left the island on a homemade raft. No one knows for sure what happened to them after that. A fourth person, Allen West, was supposed to go with them but got left behind.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and local police searched for years. But they never found clear proof of what happened to Morris and the Anglins. In 1979, the FBI decided the three likely drowned in the cold waters of San Francisco Bay. They thought the men tried to reach the mainland but didn't make it. However, the U.S. Marshals Service still has an active case file. Morris and the Anglin brothers are still on their wanted list until September 2026. Many people have different ideas about what happened to them. Some think they survived, and new clues keep appearing. This keeps the mystery alive!
Contents
The Great Alcatraz Escape
Other Escape Attempts
Before the big escape in June 1962, other prisoners tried to get out of Alcatraz. In 1937, Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe escaped. They disappeared into the bay, and officials thought they had drowned. In 1958, another prisoner named Aaron Burgett drowned while trying to escape.
The Escapees
Frank Morris
Frank Lee Morris (born September 1, 1926 – disappeared June 11, 1962) had a difficult childhood. He spent time in foster homes and an orphanage. He started getting into trouble with the law when he was young. Morris was very smart, with a high IQ score of 133. He was sent to Alcatraz on January 18, 1960. His prisoner number was AZ1441.
John and Clarence Anglin
John William Anglin (born May 2, 1930 – disappeared June 11, 1962) and Clarence Anglin (born May 11, 1931 – disappeared June 11, 1962) grew up in a large family in Georgia and Florida. Their parents were farmworkers. The brothers were very close and were excellent swimmers. They even swam in the very cold waters of Lake Michigan when there was still ice!
They started getting into trouble when they were teenagers. They were involved in stealing from banks and other places. They were caught and sent to prison. After trying to escape from another prison, John and Clarence were transferred to Alcatraz. John arrived on October 24, 1960, as inmate AZ1476. Clarence arrived on January 16, 1961, as inmate AZ1485.
Allen West
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Allen Clayton West (born March 25, 1929 – died December 21, 1978) was from New York City. He also had a history of getting into trouble with the law, especially for stealing cars. West was known for being difficult, which often led to him being held in isolation. He was transferred to Alcatraz in 1957. His prisoner number was AZ1330, and he returned for a second time in 1958 as AZ1335.
How They Planned Their Escape
Frank Morris, John Anglin, Clarence Anglin, and Allen West were all in cells next to each other. They knew each other from other prisons. It's not clear who first thought of the escape plan. Some say Morris was the leader because he was very smart. Others say West came up with the idea after seeing a ventilation shaft on the roof.
For six months, the men worked in secret. They used old saw blades, spoons from the dining hall, and even a motor from a vacuum cleaner. With these tools, they slowly widened the air vents under their sinks. They hid their work with painted cardboard. Morris played his accordion loudly to cover the noise.
Once the holes were big enough, they could get into a hidden hallway behind their cells. From there, they climbed to the top level of the cellblock. This area was empty and unguarded. Here, they set up a secret workshop.
They used more than fifty stolen raincoats to make life preservers. Morris found ideas for these in a Popular Mechanics magazine. They also built a large rubber raft, about six by fourteen feet. They carefully stitched the seams by hand and sealed them with liquid plastic. Heat from nearby steam pipes helped seal the raft. They made paddles from plywood and screws. Finally, they climbed a ventilation shaft to the roof. They removed the bolts holding a large fan in place.
To hide their absence, they made fake heads. They used a mix of soap, toothpaste, concrete dust, and toilet paper. They painted them to look real and added hair from the barbershop floor. They put these dummy heads on their pillows under blankets. This made it look like they were sleeping soundly in their beds.
The Escape Night
On the night of June 11, 1962, after the lights went out at 9:30 PM, everything was ready. Morris and the Anglins put their fake heads in their beds. They left their cells for the last time. But Allen West had a problem. The cement he used to fix his vent had hardened. It made the opening too small, and he couldn't get out.
Morris and the Anglins had to leave West behind. They climbed the ventilation shaft to the roof. Guards heard a loud crash as they broke out of the shaft. But no one investigated the noise. The three men then slid down a kitchen vent pipe, about 50 feet, to the ground. They climbed over two 12-foot barbed-wire fences.
At the northeast shore, a spot hidden from searchlights, they inflated their raft. They used a concertina (a musical instrument) that they had changed to work like a pump. Around 10:00 PM, Morris and the Anglins launched their raft and left Alcatraz. By the time West finally got his vent open, the others were gone. He found an unfinished raft and other supplies they had left for him. West climbed back down and returned to his cell, exhausted.
What Happened Next?
The escape wasn't discovered until 7 AM the next morning, June 12. The fake heads worked perfectly! Officers found the dummy heads when they tried to wake the prisoners. Many police and military groups searched for ten days. On June 14, a paddle was found near Angel Island. A wallet with photos and addresses of the Anglins' family was also found. On June 21, a life vest washed up on Cronkite beach, almost 3 miles outside the Golden Gate Bridge. Another life vest was found near Alcatraz the next day. Nothing else was ever recovered.
A police officer reported seeing a fishing boat near Alcatraz on the escape night. This made some people think the prisoners had help. But the FBI didn't think this was important.
FBI agents thought the raft must have sunk and the men had drowned. They believed the men wouldn't have left their important belongings behind if they had made it to land. However, since no bodies were found, the FBI kept searching.
A month after the escape, a ship saw a body floating in the ocean. It was 15 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. But the ship couldn't pick it up. The coroner said it was unlikely to be an escapee. He thought it was probably someone who had jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge a few days earlier.
West told investigators that they planned to paddle to Angel Island. Then they would go to the mainland to steal clothes and a car. The FBI said it was possible to reach Angel Island. But they thought it was very unlikely they survived the cold water and strong currents. The FBI's final report said the raft was never found. No car thefts were linked to the escapees.
There were some hoaxes after the escape. Someone claiming to be John Anglin called a lawyer. A postcard arrived at the FBI office saying, "Ha, ha, ha! We made it. Frank, John, and Clarence." But the FBI said it was a fake.
The Mystery Continues
Allen West helped the investigation and was put in isolation. He later told others about his role in the escape. West was transferred to other prisons after Alcatraz closed in 1963. He died in 1978.
On December 16, 1962, another Alcatraz prisoner, John Paul Scott, escaped. He made inflatable armbands from rubber gloves. He successfully swam 2.7 miles from Alcatraz to Fort Point. He was found suffering from extreme cold and tiredness. Scott was the only Alcatraz prisoner known to reach the shore by swimming. His escape made people wonder if Morris and the Anglins could have survived too. Today, athletes swim this same route in annual triathlon events.
Alcatraz prison was very expensive to run. The buildings were also damaged by salt water. So, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy ordered the prison to close on March 21, 1963.
The FBI closed its investigation on December 31, 1979. They concluded that Morris and the Anglins most likely drowned. They believed the raft broke apart, and the men were swept out to sea.
However, the United States Marshals Service still has the case open. Deputy U.S. Marshal Michael Dyke said they never stop looking for wanted people. The warrant for the men will expire between September 1, 2026, and May 11, 2031. This is when the men would have turned 100 years old.
Reported Sightings
For many years, people reported seeing the escapees. In 1965, the FBI looked into a rumor that Clarence Anglin was living in Brazil. But they found no proof.
A man called the FBI in 1967. He claimed to have met Morris in Maryland. He described Morris as having "a small beard and moustache."
The Anglin family said they received postcards and messages over the years. Some were signed "Jerry and Joe." They also had a Christmas card from 1962, supposedly from John. The Anglin brothers' mother received flowers every Mother's Day until she died in 1973. Two tall women in heavy makeup reportedly attended her funeral. In the 1960s and 1970s, there were "six or seven" sightings of the Anglin brothers in Florida or Georgia. In 1989, two bearded men attended the funeral of the Anglin brothers' father.
In 1989, a woman called a TV show. She said a photo of Clarence Anglin matched a man living on a farm in Florida. Another woman also recognized Clarence Anglin from a photo.
New Clues and Theories
In a TV show, a former prisoner named Clarence Carnes claimed he got a postcard from the escapees. It said "Gone fishing," which was a secret code that they had succeeded. Carnes thought someone might have picked them up in a boat. Officials did not believe Carnes' claims.
In 1993, another former Alcatraz prisoner, Thomas Kent, said he helped plan the escape. He claimed Clarence Anglin's girlfriend was supposed to meet them and drive them to Mexico. Officials were doubtful of his story.
In 2003, the TV show MythBusters tested the escape. They built a raft with the same materials the prisoners used. The hosts successfully reached the Marin Headlands, near the Golden Gate Bridge. The show concluded that the escape was "possible."
A 2011 documentary called Vanished from Alcatraz shared new information. It suggested a raft was found on Angel Island the day after the escape. Footprints led away from it. Also, a blue Chevrolet car was reported stolen in Marin County that same day. The next day, three men in a blue Chevrolet forced another driver off the road in Stockton, California. This led to ideas that officials might have hidden some facts.
In 2014, scientists studied the ocean currents. They found that if the prisoners left Alcatraz at 11:30 PM on June 11, they could have reached Horseshoe Bay. This is just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Any debris would have floated towards Angel Island, matching where the paddle and belongings were found.
A 2015 TV documentary, Alcatraz: Search for the Truth, showed more clues from the Anglin family. They had Christmas cards with the Anglins' handwriting. These were supposedly received for three years after the escape. The handwriting was real, but the envelopes had no postmarks. A family friend, Fred Brizzi, claimed he saw John and Clarence in Rio de Janeiro in 1975. He showed photos he said were of them. Experts thought the men in the photos were "more than likely" the Anglins. Brizzi also suggested a different escape plan. He said they paddled around the island to the boat dock. Then they tied an electrical cord to a prison ferry and were towed to the mainland.
Art Roderick, a retired U.S. Marshal, called Brizzi's photo "the best lead we've had." But he also said it could be a made-up story. Michael Dyke, another Marshal, was suspicious of Brizzi. An expert for the U.S. Marshal's Service did not believe the photo was real.
The Anglin family also said that Robert Anglin, a brother, had contact with John and Clarence from 1963 until 1987. The family planned to travel to Brazil to search for them.
In 2018, the FBI revealed a letter received in 2013. The writer claimed to be John Anglin. He said Frank Morris died in 2008 and Clarence Anglin died in 2011. He wanted to surrender in exchange for medical treatment for his cancer. The letter's truthfulness was not confirmed.
In a November 15, 2025 YouTube video, Mark Rober, along with Johnny Harris and video journalist Cleo Abram, recreated the prison escape. They used the same plans and items as the escapees. All three successfully reached a point near the Golden Gate Bridge on a handmade raft. This showed that the escape was possible.
See also
- List of fugitives from justice who disappeared
- List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea
