The Crime Book

85

An Alcatraz prison guard in the

utility corridor holds a small section

of the wall that one of the inmates

chiselled free. From this corridor, the

inmates could make it up to the roof

of the cellblock.

CON ARTISTS

photographs of the Anglin family.

On 21 June, shreds of raincoat

material, believed to be remnants

of the raft, were recovered on the

beach. The next day, a prison boat

picked up a makeshift life jacket.

Neither human remains, nor

any other physical evidence of the

men’s fate has ever been found.

FBI investigators concluded that

while it was theoretically possible

for one or more of the inmates to

have reached Angel Island, the

water temperature and strong

currents within the bay made it

highly unlikely.

Once the escape was

discovered, West cooperated with

investigators on the proviso that he

would be spared punishment for

his part in the plot. He provided

a detailed description of their

intended escape, telling

investigators that once they

reached land the plan was to

steal clothes and a car. The FBI

investigated but determined that

there were no vehicle thefts or

clothing-store burglaries in the

days following the escape. This

strengthened their belief that the

three escapees had perished in

the icy waters.

New leads

On 31 December 1979, after an

investigation lasting 17 years, the

FBI closed its file. Their official

finding was that the prisoners most

likely drowned in the cold waters of

the bay while attempting to reach

Angel Island. They turned the case

over to the US Marshal Service,

which continued to investigate.

In October 2015, the Anglin

family breathed new life into the

case. They produced Christmas

cards, which they claimed the

Anglin brothers had sent to their

mother in the three years following

their escape. The handwriting was

found to be a match but the date

they were written could not be

determined. The Anglin family also

revealed a photograph purporting

to show the brothers on a Brazilian

farm in 1975. A forensic expert

working on a subsequent History

Channel investigation deemed it

highly likely that the photograph

shows the Anglins alive in 1975.

Declassified FBI documents also

released in October 2015 revealed

that FBI Director Edgar Hoover

was told in 1965 that the Anglins

could be hiding in Brazil, contrary

to the agency’s public line on the

case. Secretly, Hoover ordered

investigators to Brazil to search for

them in 1965 but found no trace of

the Anglin brothers. Whatever the

truth may be of the escapees’ fate,

it seems this incredible case is far

from over. ■

I really do believe the

boys made it out of here.

I do believe the boys are

a l ive t o day.

Marie Widner

080-085_EscapeFromAlcatraz.indd 85 02/12/2016 14:41