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1962 Event/ How the largest prison escape in US history happened

2025-12-15 18:20:00, Kuriozitete CNA

In June 1962, three Alcatraz prisoners fooled guards with head masks, dug tunnels with spoons, built a belt of raincoats, and disappeared into the frozen San Francisco Bay.

However, while brothers John and Clarence Anglin and their friend Frank Morris orchestrated the escape, an investigator has now told the Daily Mail that it was a hidden flaw in the prison itself that helped pave the way for their escape.

Located on a lonely island in the middle of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz has held prisoners since the Civil War.

It was not until 1934 that the three-story concrete building was reinforced and transformed into the highest security prison in the world.

1962 Event/ How the largest prison escape in US history happened

Its inmates would eventually include notorious criminals like Al Capone and George "Machine Gun" Kelly, skilled escape artists, and even strange figures like the infamous "Birdman of Alcatraz."

Escape was virtually impossible, but between 1934 and its closure in 1963, 36 prisoners attempted to escape 14 times. Almost all were captured or died in the attempt.

But the three men who dug a tunnel through the prison were the only ones who managed to get out.

Since they had made realistic fake heads from soap, cement dust, rolled-up electrical cord, plaster, and hair they had collected from the prison barbershop, the guards believed they were sleeping in their own beds.

Their cunning gave them an eight-hour advantage before anyone realized they had left.

1962 Event/ How the largest prison escape in US history happened

The routine in the prison was the same every day. Around 7 a.m., they would count the prisoners. Throughout the night, the guards would check on the prisoners, but because the beds had fake headboards, no one noticed anything was wrong; they just didn't get up.

In the morning, when they had not yet risen for the count, the guard I interviewed said that they went to one of the cells.

A guard shouted, "We have a person sleeping here." The officer approached and shouted, "Get up!" He tried again, "Get up!", and then he put his hand through the bars and hit the pillow next to his head with his fist.

The fake head flew away and he said he was thrown back about a meter. He blew the whistle and that was the start of the biggest escape in U.S. history./CNA