America's Most Famous Prison Escape Happened 63-Years Ago Today, Remains Unsolved

Wednesday marks the 63-year-anniversary of three men escaping from Alcatraz.

There was a time when Alcatraz was viewed as the harshest and most secure prison in the country. That honor now belongs to ADX Florence in Colorado.

However, there was a time in America where the worst of the worst were shipped off to the island in the San Francisco Bay.

The idea of escape was viewed as impossible due to the water and unlikely chances of survival. That was until John Anglin, Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris disappeared into the night.

Mugshots of three prisoners that made a rare escape from Alcatraz Island. From left to right: Clarence Anglin, John William Anglin, and Frank Lee. (Credit: Getty Images)

The Alcatraz prison escape remains unsolved.

At some point in the late hours of June 11, 1962, the three convicts busted out of the country's strongest prison, and were never seen again.

It doesn't just remain America's greatest prison break. It also remains one of the country's greatest unsolved mysteries.

On the morning of June 12th, officials realized the three men were gone, and a massive search was launched. It yielded little results.

The men had created fake heads so anyone checking cells would think they were sleeping, and were able to slip out after loosening air vents.

The FBI describes the following details about the escape:

"Using crude tools—including a homemade drill made from the motor of a broken vacuum cleaner—the plotters each loosened the air vents at the back of their cells by painstakingly drilling closely spaced holes around the cover so the entire section of the wall could be removed. Once through, they hid the holes with whatever they could—a suitcase, a piece of cardboard, etc. Behind the cells was a common, unguarded utility corridor. They made their way down this corridor and climbed to the roof of their cell block inside the building, where they set up a secret workshop. There, taking turns keeping watch for the guards in the evening before the last count (see the crude "periscope" they constructed for the lookouts), they used a variety of stolen and donated materials to build and hide what they needed to escape. More than 50 raincoats that they stole or gathered were turned into makeshift life preservers and a 6x14 foot rubber raft, the seams carefully stitched together and "vulcanized" by the hot steam pipes in the prison (the idea came from magazines that were found in the prisoners’ cells). They also built wooden paddles and converted a musical instrument into a tool to inflate the raft."

The infamous Alcatraz prison escape remains unsolved 63 years later. (Credit: Getty Images)

The reason why the escape remains fascinating more than 60 years later is shockingly simple:

The government has never been able to find any evidence about what happened once they broke out.

There was zero evidence suggesting they died and zero evidence to suggest they made it. A life-vest was found on a nearby beach, but that's not a sign of much.

Rumors and theories have persisted ever since the morning they were discovered missing. Some have long believed the Anglin brothers safely made it to South America, where they lived out the rest of their days.

However, there's never been any real proof, other than some grainy photos that some allege show the men.

So, where did they go? Did they die in the water? Did they all make it to land with the authorities failing to find them?

Your guess is as good as mine. I will tell you a funny story. A family member had to do some work with a man who spent time in Alcatraz, and he told my family member that he would occasionally still hear from the authorities about the men. This was decades after the escape. It was at some point in the early 2000s. I've always found that fascinating because it goes to show the authorities never truly believed they died in the water.

In fact, the US Marshals were still hunting the men as of 2022.

What happened in the legendary Alcatraz escape? (Photo By The Denver Post via Getty Images)

What do you think happened to Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers? Let me know your theories at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.