Alcatraz. A place where the most dangerous criminals in America were sent to rot, locked away in the middle of the freezing San Francisco Bay. No one had ever escaped. No one… until one fateful night in June 1962.
Frank Lee Morris was no ordinary prisoner. With an IQ higher than most, Morris had escaped prison before. But Alcatraz was different. It was impenetrable. Or so they thought.
Morris wasn’t alone. He teamed up with two brothers, Clarence and John Anglin. Together, they spent months plotting their escape. Their tools were makeshift, crafted from what they could scavenge: spoons, nails, even a small drill made from a broken vacuum cleaner. Bit by bit, they began to chip away at the cement walls of their cells, working quietly during the night.
Behind each of their beds, they created small holes that led to a hidden corridor. But they needed time—time away from the watchful eyes of the guards.
So, they created dummies. Heads made from paper-mâché, complete with real hair, carefully placed on their pillows each night. It was the perfect illusion—just enough to buy them time.
On the night of June 11, 1962, the time had come. Frank, the Anglins, and another inmate, Allen West, made their move.
One by one, they slipped through the narrow holes and made their way to the roof of the prison, using the skills they’d perfected over months of preparation. But Allen West struggled to remove the vent in his cell. His delay cost him his freedom. He was left behind.
Down to the shores of Alcatraz they went, where a raft made from raincoats lay in wait. The final step was the most dangerous: crossing the freezing, deadly waters of San Francisco Bay.
And just like that, they vanished into the night. The next morning, the guards found only empty cells—and the dummies lying in the beds.
An intense manhunt followed. The waters were searched, pieces of the raft were found, but there were no bodies. Many believed the men had drowned in the icy waters, their dreams of freedom sinking with them.
But to this day, no one knows for sure. Did Frank Lee Morris and the Anglin brothers meet their end in the cold waters of the bay? Or did they pull off the greatest prison break in American history, escaping to freedom, never to be seen again?
