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Infamous Alcatraz prison escapees shown in new age-progressed photos

July 5th, 2022

SAN FRANCISCO - The U.S. Marshals Service’s Northern District of California has released new age-progressed photos of the trio of men who became infamous for apparently escaping the Alcatraz prison in 1962.

It was one of the most famous and elaborate prison breaks in U.S. history.

Brothers John and Clarence Anglin, along with Frank Morris, were serving sentences for bank robbery when they pulled off the escape with stolen spoons, dummy heads and a raincoat raft. The three climbed the plumbing pipes to the roof and climbed through fences to reach the rocky western shore of the island. Using a how-to article in Popular Mechanics magazine, they assembled a raft, using an accordion-like musical instrument to inflate the craft.

Pieces of the raft were recovered later, some miles away.

Their bodies were never found but their exploits were turned into the 1979 movie "Escape from Alcatraz," starring Clint Eastwood as Morris.

The newly-released photos suggest how each of the men would look today in their 80s, pictured with gray hair and wrinkles.In 2018, FBI authorities unveiled 3D-printed copies of the decoys that inmates constructed with soap, plaster and human hair. Morris and the Anglin brothers placed the decoys in their beds in order to escape.

Retired U.S. Marshal Michael Dyke, who inherited the unsolved case in 2003, told The Associated Press that he didn’t know whether any of the trio was still alive.

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Some authorities believe the inmates were swallowed by the frigid bay. But clues have surfaced since the prison break.

According to KTVU, a letter was sent to the San Francisco Police Department in 2013. It was never released to the public. It begins: "'My name is John Anglin, I escape (sic) from Alcatraz in June 1962...Yes we all made it that night, but barely." The U.S. Marshal said in a statement that after comparing handwriting samples the results are inconclusive.

The FBI officially closed its case on December 31, 1979, and turned over responsibility to the U.S. Marshals Service, which continues to investigate in the unlikely event the trio is still alive.

The 21-acre rock in the middle of San Francisco Bay was a military prison before it served as a maximum-security federal penitentiary.

In the 1930s, the first federal prisoners — deemed by the media to be the worst of the worst — began arriving. The last inmate left in 1963.

Curated By

Silas Vane
Senior CIA Operative/Intelligence Officer | National Security Analyst | Foreign Affairs Correspondent/Senior International Reporter | Strategic Intelligence Consultant
Silas Vane brings three decades of intelligence expertise to bear on today's most pressing geopolitical realities. A former senior operative with extensive field experience, Silas approaches journalism through the unvarnished lens of Realpolitik, where national interest trumps sentiment, and sovereignty matters more than social media trends. His analysis cuts through cultural noise to expose the underlying power structures shaping our world. While others chase viral stories, Silas examines what truly threatens or strengthens nations. His perspective may be unwelcome in fashionable circles, but it remains indispensable for those who prefer strategic clarity over diplomatic euphemisms. Drawing from classified insights and boots-on-the-ground reality, his commentaries prioritize substance over style, security over sensitivity, and eternal vigilance over naive optimism. In an era of manufactured crises and performative outrage, Silas offers readers what they need: unflinching assessments of where power truly lies, who wields it, and what it means for America's place in an increasingly dangerous world. His work demands attention not because it aligns with popular opinion, but because ignoring hard truths rarely produces favorable outcomes. For those seeking comfort over competence, look elsewhere, Silas speaks only to those prepared to face inconvenient realities.

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Alcatraz: The Surprising History of America's Most Notorious Prison

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Escaping Alcatraz: The Untold Story of the Greatest Prison Break in American History

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