FBI Releases ‘Alcatraz’ Letter That Suggests All 3 Inmates Survived 1962 Escape
In 1962 three men broke out of Alcatraz. Did they survive? Murmurs of their existence are laced throughout history. A picture here, a family member’s sworn testimony there.
The FBI insisted for years that the men had perished during their escape, drowning in the turbulent waters surrounding the prison.
However, the agency now admits that it might have been wrong. It was announced this week that the investigation into the daring Alcatraz escape had been reopened.
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Conventional wisdom regarding the case was upended when agents received a letter allegedly written by one of the escaped convicts.
“Brothers John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris tunneled out of their cell in the prison on 11 June 56 years ago, disappeared into the inky waters of San Francisco Bay and have never been found,” writes the Daily Mail.
“But a handwritten letter, sent to authorities in 2013 but only made public this week, suggests that at least one of the men, John Anglin, may still be alive.”
Authorities have been hiding the information from the public for five years.
Interest in the Anglin brothers and Morris’ escape reached a fever pitch in 1979 with the release of “Escape From Alcatraz,” a movie that effectively conveyed the intricacies of their plan.
They tunneled out of the ceiling’s air vents with the help of a homemade drill and wriggled their way to the roof. Inflated life vests and rain jackets were turned into a makeshift raft and they set sail for land. When the guards searched their rooms the next the morning they found paper-mache dummies stuffed into their beds.
Read the letter escapee John Anglin sent to the FBI below:
“My name is John Anglin. I escape [sic] from Alcatraz in June 1962 with my brother Clarence and Frank Morris. I’m 83 years old and in bad shape. I have cancer. Yes we all made it that night but barely!
Frank passed away in October 2005. His grave is in Alexandria under another name. My brother died in 2011.
If you announce on T.V. that I will be promised to first go to jail for no more than a year and get medical attention, I will write back to let you know exactly where I am. This is no joke this is for real and honest truth.
I could tell you that for seven years I lived in Minot North Dakota – […] in Fargo – 1990 to 2005!
But too damn cold had to get the hell out. I lived in Seattle for most of my years after the escape.
I’m in Southern California now.
Well, let me know.”
(Source: Daily Mail)
