Family of Alcatraz escapee John Anglin believe he IS still alive as they slam FBI for keeping letter secret for five years Ken and David Widner, from Atlanta, Georgia, are the nephews of. Sisters of the Anglin brothers, Marie Anglin Widner (left) and Mearl AnglinTaylor (right) show an article where a woman, Eugenia MacGowan received a call alleging that the Anglin brothers had survived the escape during their visit to Alcatraz on the 50th anniversary of the Anglin Brothers escape in San Francisco, California, on Monday, June 11, 2012. [1] On October 12, 2015, however, a History Channel documentary, Alcatraz: Search For The Truth, provided new evidence in the case. Curiosity over the fate of the three men has never really abated. I escape [d] from Alcatraz in June 1962 with my brother Clarence and Frank Morris. Ringleader Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin broke free from the island prison in the San Francisco Bay after allegedly planning their getaway for . Cameras were strictly taboo on or near the island and this is one of the few closeups taken of the work-bound convicts from that time period. Basil Banghart, a machine gunner during the Prohibition era, served more than 11 years at Alcatraz Federal Prison and transferred to Joliet State Prison in Illinois in 1954. Is one of the infamous 1962 Alcatraz escapees still alive? Charles E. Steinheimer./Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image. This 1962 photo from the U.S. Penitentiary Alcatraz shows Frank Morris's cell and Senior Officer Howard Waldron looking at the point of escape. Robert Checchi, an officer with the San Francisco police, reported seeing what he described as a pristine white boat out in the Bay on the night of the mens disappearance. The distance from Alcatraz to Angel Island is well over a mile, which would make for a difficult trip in the cold current of the San Francisco Bay. ", Art Shay/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image. Sent to a San Francisco Police Department in 2013 and made public this week, it states: "My name is John Anglin. Out of these 36 brave inmates, 23 were caught before making it to freedom, six were shot and killed by prison or police forces, two drowned in the intense currents of the San Fransisco Bay, and five, including Morris and the Anglin brothers, were never seen again. "He's not given to rash violence. The men were gone, which triggered prison officials to reach out to the FBIs San Francisco office. This 1962 photo from the U.S. Penitentiary Alcatraz shows correctional officer Orrin T. Maybee looking over the vent, grill and cover used as an escape exit. This article needs additional citations for verification. Marshal Service still keeps the case active and reacts to tips when and where warranted. Brizzi was visiting Rio De Janeiro in 1975 when he ran into the Anglins standing by a farm. A 2013 letter to the FBI, if real, suggests the Anglin brothers and Frank Morris survived one of the most daringand dangerousprison breaks of all time. Alcatraz Island June 8th, 2012. The documentary also provided a story and accompanying photo from Fred Brizzi, a family friend of the Anglins, claiming they were living in Brazil. The Federal Bureau of Prisons say that they drowned once they got off of Alcatraz and their bodies were swept out to the Pacific Oceanend of story, National Park Service Ranger John Cantwell said. People view Alcatraz through powerful telescopes on June 16, 1962. But a handwritten letter, reportedly sent to authorities in 2013 but only made public this week, suggests that at least one of the men, John Anglin, may still be out there. On June 11, 1962, three prisoners escaped from U.S. Penitentiary Alcatraz in San Francisco, using dummies in there cells and other complicated methods. "I know that if that was John, he would have come to us - not gone to the FBI.". Authorities, however, are not convinced. Evidence is now piling up that the three men survived and one even lived in Fargo. If the letter was, in fact, written by John Anglin, the case could potentially be re-opened by the FBI. It featured two men with a striking resemblance to the Anglins standing on the roadside. Jump up ^ History Channel documentary on YouTube Jump up ^ Bruce, Campbell J. Alcatraz[edit] In 1958 John Anglin robbed the Columbia Alabama bank with a toy gun together with his brothers Clarence and Alfred. Alcatraz warden James Johnston points to the door of the main cell block which kept rioting prisoners from escaping because a guard, held by the rioters, threw away the key. If the men are. If it wasn't the stuff of legends. In this lineup of convicts leaving the recreation yard of Alcatraz from August 1938, prisoners like Machine Gun Kelly and Al Capone, the toughest prisoners in America, start the day on the island. Their story was then adapted into the hit 1979 movie Escape From Alcatraz, starring Clint Eastwood as Morris and Fred Ward and Jack Thibeau as John and Clarence Anglin, respectively. The idea was to be prepared for the choppy Bay waters en route to freedom in nearby Marin County. Double doors seal the entrance to the main cell house from the dining room at Alcatraz in this photo from March 14, 1956. Marshals is the only agency still conducting an active investigation on the case. Alfred likely knew as much or as little as anyone else, yet when his body was exhumed it showed no signs of physical abuse. Morris was fostered at 11-years-old and spent a majority of his youth bouncing around different foster homes. ), American criminal who escaped in 1962 from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary John Anglin (sailor) (1850-1905), cabin boy in US Navy, received Medal of Honor This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. ", Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images. In 2012, 50 years after the infamous attempted escape, two of the Anglins sisters and two of their nephews went public and announced their belief that John and Clarence were still alive. With Clint Eastwood starring as Frank Morris, Jack Thibeau portraying Clarence Anglin, and Fred Ward playing John Anglin, Escape From Alcatraz gives the audience a glimpse into one of the most miraculous prison escapes of all time. The men spent their nights working as quietly and discreetly as possible, covering their hard labor with cardboard and paint each morning so that the guards wouldnt suspect a thing. Marshal Michael Dyke mentioned that about a month after the 1962 escape attempt, a Norwegian freighter reported spotting what appeared to be a floating body in the ocean roughly 17 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. In fact, inmate John Paul Scott made his escape in December 1962, just months after the Anglins and Morris fled. Jump up ^ Staff Writer (October 12, 2015). The men are taken from a door in the recreation yard, at upper right, through a heavily wired pathway. "This is absolutely the best actionable lead we've had,"Art Roderick, a retired U.S. marshal who worked on the case for 20 years, said in the special. Officials turned to the other incarcerated Anglin brother, Alfred, who was housed in an Alabama facility, to see if he knew anything. http://www.history.com. Shackled together (left to right): Clarence Carnes, 19, Sam Shockley and Miran Thompson are led from an elevator in the San Francisco Federal building on June 25, 1946 en route to court in custody of a U.S. ISBN 1-58008-678-0. Alcatraz Island is situated 1.25 miles off the San Fransisco coast. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! In 2020, David Widner, a nephew of the Anglin brothers, told Georgia's Albany Herald that his family had been given some photographs by a man named Fred Brizzi. Among the tools they used to widen the ventilation ducts in their cells were discarded saw blades found in the prison yard, stolen spoons from the commissary, and even a drill fashioned from the motor of a broken vacuum cleaner. From May 24, 1946, six prisoners led a failed attempt to escape, which became known as the "Battle of Alcatraz." Brizzi passed the photo to the Anglin family in 1992, and they kept it under wraps until now. S. Penitentiary Alcatraz. 2012-06-12. But in 2016, their nephews reignited the mystery by presenting the police with a photo which they claimed was John and Clarence in Brazil in 1975. Maybe in 8 years time, John Anglin will emerge from hiding after a lifetime running from . It has been suggested that this article be merged with Clarence Anglin. But that was far from the end of the story. The FBI lab analysed the letter for DNA and fingerprints but their results were inconclusive, according to local reports. The U.S. In January of 2018, a letter surfaced that was originally sent to San Fransisco Police Departments Richmond station back in 2013. Escape is only a few yards away, but the route is barred by barbed wire entanglements that reach to the water's edge. Following the Civil War, the island was modified and fortified, with the addition of a brick jailhouse. He was an infamous con-artist who was best known as "The man who sold the Eiffel Tower. Even though Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin were presumed dead, search teams never actually found conclusive evidence confirming their deaths. Marshals Service to this day continues to have an open case on the escape. While the utility corridor afforded them a workspace, the men also had to avoid arousing suspicion at night. Marshal for arraignment on a murder charge stemming from an abortive break at Alcatraz on May 2-4, 1946. Frank Morris, and brothers John and Clarence Anglin became folk heroes who inspired a . In a documentary screened in the US, Ken and David, of Georgia, claimed their uncles were picked up by a criminal associate who whisked them to freedom in South America. In 1963, J. Campbell Bruce published Escape from Alcatraz, a history of the prison and those who had attempted to flee it, including Morris and the Anglins. [6] After escaping from the Louisiana prison, Frank Morris was recaptured a year later while committing a burglary. The fate of the escapees has been the subject of much speculation over the decades, thanks inno small part to the 1979 Clint Eastwood movie based on their getaway, Escape From Alcatraz. They remain unaccounted for. The Anglin brothers and fellow inmate Frank Morris made their legendary MacGyver-like break from the island federal prison off San Francisco in 1962, and the FBI and local law enforcement followed hundreds of leads in the years after with little solid evidence the men died or survived. To give themselves a headstart, the men used a mixture of soap, toothpaste, concrete dust, and toilet paper to create a home-made paper-mache. Twice. I don't think John would have agreed to serve a year to get medical attention. Roderick added that it could still all be a nice story which isnt true.. The U.S. So that means yes, and it means no, so this leaves everything in limbo, security analyst Jeff Harp told CBS. The first clue, they said, was a mysterious phone call. I escaped from Alcatraz in June 1962 with my brother Clarence and Frank Morris. The FBI assumed that Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin all drowned in the San Fransisco Bay on the night of their escape. Opened on August 11, 1934, Alcatraz ("the Rock") was America's premier maximum-security prison, and for 29 years the final stop for the nation's most incorrigible inmates, including Al Capone. I'm doing analysis on the photo as we speak and having the FBI look at it. For the Anglin brothers, three of 14 children who grew up in poverty-stricken areas of Georgia and Florida, it was a life-changing amount of cash. In the attempted prison escape, May 2-4, 1946, two guards and three inmates were killed. The air vents that had been displaced were usually covered with items in their cells, like a suitcase or cardboard. The Anglins were caught and arrested just five days later in Ohio, and all three went to prison. Widner expressed dismay that authorities had not contacted the family about his relatives alleged illness. The only weapon they ever used was a toy gun. Merry Christmas. Authorities then confirmed that there was, in fact, a chance that the runaway convicts survived. And now federal officials are asking citizens to be on the lookout. Three convicts, Bernard Coy, a bank robber from Kentucky; Joseph Paul Cretzer, a bank robber from Los Angeles; and Marvin Hobbard, a kidnapper from Tennessee, were killed. For brothers John and Clarence Anglin, the story of the most infamous prison escape in modern history began with a toy gun. Experts who compared the letters handwriting to that of John Anglins, and to the Christmas cards which the Anglin family received noted consistency and the likelihood that it was legitimate. The senselessness of such an act led some to believe Alfred may have been killed by officials badgering him about his brothers escape. There have long been rumors that one or all of the escapees made it out alive in 1962. In June 1962, three inmates, brothers John and Clarence Anglin, and Frank Morris, escaped the world's toughest penitentiary through a hole they chiseled in the wall. I have a pretty good idea of where they're at (but) that I'm not going to say.". by relatives that Clarence and his brother John Anglin survived their escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary and went to Brazil to live. "I wa. If alive, all will be in . Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Monday, June 11th marks the 50th anniversary of the escape of three prisoners from U.S. Penitentiary Alcatraz in San Francisco, Calif. They had used sharpened spoons to bore through the prison walls, left papier-mach dummies in their beds and floated away on a raft made from 50 raincoats. The phantom author claims Frank "passed away" in 2008 and his brother Clarence died three years later. Marshals investigating the case told the broadcaster they considered the lead closed with no merit, and a simple hoax from someone hoping to scam and embarrass federal and local authorities. From the "inescapable" island's shore, they set off across San Francisco Bay on an inflatable raft made from stolen rain coats. An FBI laboratory examined the letter for fingerprints and DNA, and analyzed the handwriting within, but the results were inconclusive. By 1979, the FBI had officially closed its case. The U.S. This 1962 photo from the U.S. Penitentiary Alcatraz shows correctional officer Orrin T. Maybee looking over the inside of the escape hole and the cover fashioned by the prisoners. October 12, 2015. leduc county property assessment map. With this photo, I'm not swaying one way or the other. BBC. After all, he could just be trying to steer the investigation away from the Anglins actual location. Brother of Rufus T Anglin; Charlie B Anglin; Verna Newberry; Audrey Bazemore; George Robert Anglin, Jr. and 8 others; Alfred Ray Anglin; Clarence Anglin; Private; Carson C Anglin; Private; Private; Private and Private less. Also, a deathbed confession from another Anglin sibling stated that the brothers had remained in contact from 1963 until 1987. (He was, however, suffering from hypothermia and quickly recaptured.). Replica dummies, like the ones made by the only known escapees of Alcatraz, Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin, are seen in a cell on Alcatraz Island June 8th, 2012. Al Capone's cell #181is seen on the 2nd floor of the main cell block on Alcatraz Island June 8th, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2015. Replica tools that were used in the only known escape by brothers John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris ar seen in a cell on Alcatraz Island June 8th, 2012. U.S. Deputy U.S. Today, it plays host to more than a million tourists each year, often drawn to the site by the story of the Anglin brothers, which was adapted for the screen in the 1979 film Escape From Alcatraz. I escape[d] from Alcatraz in June 1962 with my brother Clarence and Frank Morris. On June 14th, the Coast Guard found a paddle 200 yards from Angel Islands southern coast. US Marshall Michael Dyke (left) talks about the tips he follows while searching for the whereabouts of the Anglin Brothers on Alcatraz in San Francisco, California. If the inmates wanted to pull off the escape, every minute where the guards werent in pursuit would be crucial. A shipment of prisoners arrives on Alcatraz in August 1934. Alcatraz Island June 8th, 2012. The authenticity of the correspondence was never proven, and the FBI appeared to keep the letter private until 2018. A photo of Al Capone and sheet music for a song "Madonna Mia" written in pencil by Capone while he was at Alcatraz prison. But the Anglins had another advantage. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Marshals Service to this day continues to have an open case on the escape. Alcatraz, known as "The Rock," was a federal penitentiary for 29 years and a prison for more than a century. A new photo has surfaced that allegedly proves Alcatraz inmates John and Clarence Anglin didn't die during their infamous 1962 escape and actually survived--but the lone official investigator. As kids, John and Clarence became talented swimmers in the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. ", "If you announce on TV 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. Alcatraz inmate Robert Stroud (the "Birdman of Alcatraz") was a convicted murderer and one of the most famous prisoners at Alcatraz. A morning head count revealed just thatfake heads but no bodies to go along with them. There was otherwise no sign of the men, dead or alive. The History Channel. In 2013, a letter claiming to be from John Anglin was sent to the San Francisco Police Department. Now the family of John and Clarence Anglin say a photograph taken in 1975 shows the brothers alive and well and living in Brazil. View our online Press Pack. Marshal Michael Dyke, based in Oakland, said in an interview. A week later, authorities found remnants of the raincoats used for the raft and life preservers. John Anglin (criminal) (1930-? If they are still alive . Which would mean that if the Anglins and Morris had succeeded in anything, it was in trading one kind of prison for another. A myriad conflicting theories have surfaced over the years, and the 1979 Hollywood film "Escape from Alcatraz," chronicling their story, starring Clint Eastwood, only added to the speculation. The prisoners overpowered guards in the cell house and captured weapons. He arrived at Alcatraz in 1936 and was killed trying to escape with fellow inmates Henri Young and Rufus McCain on January 13, 1939. ". Police were unable to locate the boat. Monday, June 11th marks the 50th anniversary of the escape of three prisoners from U.S. Penitentiary Alcatraz in San Francisco, Calif. A dummy head was used to throw off guards, and sheets were used to conceal his exit below the sink. John Anglins cell, where the men made their exit, is a popular attraction. Three convicts were not in their cells: John Anglin,. [2]. She previously worked for CBS San Francisco and SPIN Magazine and has contributed to Good Beer Hunting, Paper, Vice's i-D and Paste, among others. Because Brizzi knew the investigation was ongoing at the time, he needed to wait until 1992 to send the photo to the Anglins. Ken, his nephew, today told The Sun Online: "If he needed help he could have gone down to a hospital or a doctor and no-one would have even known who he was. In an interview with CBS San Francisco, the U.S. In December 1961, West, Morris, and the Anglin brothers were assigned adjacent cells, giving them the opportunity to plan their escape. Monday, June 11th marks the 50th anniversary of the escape of three prisoners from U.S. Penitentiary Alcatraz in San Francisco, Calif.