It had previously been believed that nobody successfully escaped the remote prison.
FBI agents reopened an investigation into three prisoners who escaped from Alcatraz after receiving a letter claiming to have been penned by one of the men.
It was in that 1962 that John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris attempted to escape The Rock located off the coast of San Fransisco. The FBI never recovered any of the trio’s bodies but concluded that the trio had drowned in San Francisco Bay.
However, the conclusion was thrown into doubt after a letter was sent in 2013, allegedly by John Anglin. In the document the former inmate said he was willing to return to prison in exchange for medical treatment.
Credit: CBS station KPIX-TV
According to the Metro, the letter read: “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.”
The Anglin brothers were held in Atlanta Penitentiary for bank robberies – having been sentenced to 15-20 years behind bars – but were moved to Alcatraz after a failed attempt to escape from Atlanta.
It has previously been believed that nobody successfully broke out of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, with all 36 attempts resulting in failure.
FBI investigations into the letter including a DNA and handwriting test proved inconclusive as to whether it was written by the man in question.
