Alcatraz Escapes Part 2

 By Nancy J. Farrier

Alcatraz Prison, photo by Frank Schulenburg
Wikimedia Commons

 

Last month I wrote about some of the escape attempts from Alcatraz. Several of you wanted to hear more, so I’m doing two more of the most interesting attempted escapes from Alcatraz prison.

 

Escape #7

 

On April 13, 1943, four men made a daring escape from Alcatraz at 10:00 am--an escape that was well planned, but there are always unexpected hindrances.

 

James Boarman (24) was serving twenty years for bank robbery. Harold Brest (29) was serving a life sentence for kidnapping and bank robbery. Floyd Hamilton (36), who had been friends with the famous Bonnie and Clyde, was serving thirty years for bank robbery, assault, and car theft. Fred Hunter (43) was serving a sentence of twenty-five years, ten months, and nine days for assault and for harboring a criminal wanted for kidnapping.

 

Hamilton came up with the plan which took the four men several months to prepare. Two of them stole pieces of guard uniforms from the laundry which they
concealed in fuel canisters and hid among other canisters. They planned to use these canisters as floatation devices in the bay. The others worked to saw through the bars of a window in the mat room, covering up their work with grease and paint. When they were ready they waited for a fog-enshrouded day.

 

On April 13^th, the four prisoners brandished homemade knives and took one of the guards captive. They tied and gagged him. When his superior officer came looking for him, they did the same to him. Then the men stripped to their underwear and covered their bodies in grease to help protect against the chill of the water. They removed the bars and took some of the canisters but not enough since they were hard to get through the window. They slid thirty feet down a cliff face to the water.

 

The Captain worked his gag loose and yelled for help but the noise of the machinery was too loud. The first guard slid close and the captain was able to blow his whistle, which alerted the other guards. One of the tower guards saw the men going into the water and opened fire. Guards hurried to bring the prison boat around and found Brest hanging on to Boarman. Brest had been shot in the arm, but Boarman was shot in the head. Brest released Boarman, who sank below the waves. Hunter, injured in the slide to the water, hid in a cave and was found by the guards as they circled the island. 

 

They thought Hamilton had been shot and drowned but he’d gotten away. He returned and hid in the same cave where they found Hunter. After dark, Hamilton tried to swim across the bay but the water was too cold. He stayed hidden in the cave for three days before he scaled the cliff face and climbed back in the prison through the very window they’d used for their escape. The same captain they had tied up revisited the scene and found a bruised and shivering Hamilton curled up next to the radiator. 

 

Later on, Hamilton embraced Christianity. He ended up serving as vice-president for International Prison Ministry and in his later years he started an organization called ConAid. He was given a full pardon by Lyndon Johnson.

 

Escape #13

 

On June 11, 1962, one of the most brilliant escapes happened. Once again, four men worked together to make the plan and figure out the details. 

 

Frank Morris (35) was known for his escape attempts at every prison where he’d been incarcerated. Brothers, John (32) and Clarence (31) Anglin, grew up swimming in the cold waters of Lake Michigan and were also known for their prison escapes, one of which included hiding John among loaves of bread in a truck. Allen West (35), hot tempered and arrogant, was again a noted prison escape artist. The four met in a federal prison in Atlanta before they were incarcerated at Alcatraz.

 

West discovered a chink in the Alcatraz armor almost by accident. The ventilator cap at the top of the cell house had not been cemented shut. The four men planned to enlarge the air vents in their cells and exit into a service corridor behind the cells. Then they would find a drain pipe to climb to the top, exit through the ventilator, slide down a pipe to the ground, and paddle to freedom on a cobbled together raft.

 

Once again, it took months of planning and gathering the extensive materials needed. They had to slowly chip away at the air vents in their cells, hiding the evidence, and being quiet to escape notice. Sometimes they played music to cover up the sounds of digging. Every night for four hours and through several months the four of them worked to dig their way out and prepare their escape supplies.

 

West finagled a job in the top tier of the building, cleaning and painting the space above the cells. Saying he wanted to prevent debris from getting in the cells, he convinced the guards to let him hang blankets around the workspace. The four men, secreted behind the blankets, furthered their plans. They fashioned a raft from some fifty rubber raincoats they’d stolen and using a design found in a popular mechanics magazine. They also made paddles and life preservers.

 

Loose ventilator cap.

The prisoners were allowed to have musical instruments in their cells, so West ordered a concertina which they planned to use to inflate the raft. Finally, after seven months they had the materials they needed and had broken through the ventilator’s fastening. The escape route was complete.

 

During this time of preparation, the men stole materials to make dummy heads. They found flesh-colored paint, and stole hair clippings from the barber shop. In the dark and from outside the cell these heads were very convincing.

 

Heads used to fool guards.

After lights out on June 11^th, they deemed the time had come for the escape. They retrieved the heads and put them in their beds with the blankets make to look like a body. They collected everything they’d prepared and headed for the ventilator. West had a problem getting out of his cell. He had cemented a fake grill over the air vent and couldn’t get it out. By the time he reached the ventilator above, the others were gone.

 

On the morning of June 12^th, the guards did their usual rounds. Prisoners were expected to be standing at their cell door but Morris was still asleep, the Anglins were also still sleeping. The guards entered the cell to rouse them and discovered the fake heads. They were very shocked when the prisoner’s heads rolled off the bed onto the floor.

 

Guard inspecting escape opening.

The alarm went out and more than 500 FBI and soldiers descended on the island, searching the grounds and the waters in the area. Over the course of the next weeks they found several clues: a receipt with one of the prisoners names on it, black polyethylene with knots tied in it, a makeshift lifejacket covered in bloodstains, and planks lashed together with a rope. A month after the escape a Norwegian freighter spotted a body floating twenty miles from the Golden Gate bridge but didn’t report it for three months. The body is suspected to be one of the inmates but there was no proof.

 

Only West was recaptured since he hadn’t been able to escape with the others. He was questioned extensively and gave great detail about their plans and escape process. Morris and the Anglin brothers were never found. The manhunt lasted for years until in 1979 they were officially marked as missing and presumed drowned. By this time the prison had been closed for sixteen years. 

 

Tools used in escape.

This event shocked and terrified the country as people speculated what happened to the three inmates. Clint Eastwood played the role of Morris in, Escape from Alcatraz, a 1979 movie of this escape. The escape has also been featured on Mythbusters and  America’s Most Wanted. The truth of what really happened may never be known.

 

I am fascinated by the ingenuity of these men and their determination to toil for so long in an attempt at freedom. Braving the cold waters of the bay with the threat of being shot had to be terrifying. Yet they persisted. If you are interested in reading more, I highly recommend Alcatraz Escape Files. The accounts are very detailed but easy to read.

Nancy J Farrier is an award-winning author who lives in Southern Arizona in the Sonoran Desert. She loves the Southwest with its interesting historical past. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats, and spend time with her family. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.

 

 

 

Alcatraz Escapes

Alcatraz Prison

By Nancy J. Farrier

 

Last month, I talked about the history of Alcatraz Island and the famous prison located there. This month I wanted to talk about some of the famous escape attempts from the island prison deemed inescapable. During the twenty-nine years the prison belonged to the Department of Corrections, there were fourteen documented escape attempts. Many of those ended in the death of the inmate and a few included the death of guards. These men were desperate to be away from this prison and willing to risk all for freedom.

Quote from Alcatraz
Correctional Officer

 

Escape #2

December 16, 1937

 

Theodore Cole

Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe both had a history of violent crimes and a history of escapes from other prisons. They were both incarcerated at the state prison in McAlester, Oklahoma, where more difficult prisoners were sent. Cole and Roe were acquainted in McAlester and were transported to Alcatraz together. They ended up with similar numbers at Alcatraz, which put them in close proximity to one another. 

 

Ralph Roe

The final piece that led to their escape had to do with their work. They worked in different jobs but often in the same shop. In the two years prior to their escape they studied everything from the guard’s routines to the layout of everything in and around the prison. 

 

They used a stolen hacksaw blade to cut through the bars in the shop window. This took a long time, working bit by bit. The bars on the windows were checked often, but they noted which windows missed inspection the most. Then they u
sed grease or shoe polish to cover up where they’d been sawing. Only a very close inspection would have revealed their work. 

 

On December 16^th, a day of heavy fog, after eating lunch and returning to their shop, the men waited until the guard went to the other shop area. Then they removed the bars and broke out three windows. They slid through, a task that wasn’t easy for Roe who was larger than Cole. They used a wrench to break the padlock on the gate near the cliff. They slid down to the water and it is believed they used pieces of rubber from the shop to do so.

 

Building Cole and Roe
Escaped from and cliff

One of the inmates later wrote in his memoirs that he saw Roe struggling against the undertow, but then lost him in the fog. The Coast Guard and FBI were called in. Thus began a huge manhunt, but Cole and Roe were never found. There were numerous reports of them being sighted at various places but nothing was every proved. They are believed drowned and carried out to sea under the newly completed Golden Gate Bridge, but their bodies were never found. 

 

Escape #9

July 31, 1945

 

Robert Giles

In what was referred to as the cleverest escape, John Giles, made a unique attempt to get off Alcatraz island. Giles was sent to Alcatraz for an escape from a penitentiary in Salem, OR. While in prison in Salem, Giles wrote pulp stories for magazines and edited the prison magazine. When asked why he escaped when he was considered a model prisoner, he said, “I wrote fiction for magazine and the sources of my literary creation dimmed. I felt the need for new scenes and new faces….” He was free for seven months when he joined in a robbery of a mail train. Because of his former escape, he was sent to Alcatraz.

 

Giles was a quiet man who did his duties without complaint. Because of his frail

Giles in Stolen Uniform

physique, he was assigned the task of sweeping the dock, unloading military laundry, and tending the flowers. Little did the officials know how intelligent and patient Giles could be. For ten years, Giles secreted bits of army uniforms, passes, furlough papers, maps, and other items he found in the dirty laundry. By the end of the ten years, he was able to put together a complete uniform including dog tags.

 

On July 31^st, Giles reported as usual, but when the boat docked with soldiers and there was some confusion on the dock, he slipped away and removed his prison garb which had covered his stolen uniform. He then slipped on the boat and was there with a pen and pad of paper pretending to be a soldier. 

 

Boat Giles Escaped On

The boat was almost back to its point of origin when Giles was reported missing. The sirens went off and the warden sent a message to the boat with the soldiers to check for the missing prisoner. The soldiers were lined up and Giles was found and returned to Alcatraz. He was put in solitary confinement and spent the next three years in D block, the worst place on Alcatraz.

 

He had stolen over forty items from the laundry. When interviewed by the FBI after his escape he refused to tell them anything. He didn’t want to hinder anyone else who might try to escape the same way. In an interview in 1967, when Giles was 77, he said, “…A man with a long time, he’s got only one thought—he wants to escape…You don’t want to die in prison…That’s all you think about….” 

 

I wanted to do more escape stories because they are so fascinating, but this is getting too long. Maybe I will share a couple more stories next month. Let me know in the comments if you would like to hear more. Thank you for reading. As always, I love to hear from my readers.

Nancy J Farrier is an award-winning author who lives in Southern Arizona in the Sonoran Desert. She loves the Southwest with its interesting historical past. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats, and spend time with her family. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.

The History of Alcatraz

Photo by D. Ramey Logan, Wikimedia Commons

By Nancy J. Farrier

Where did the island of Alcatraz get its name? The Spanish explorer, Juan Manuel de Ayala first sailed into the San Francisco Bay in 1775. He and his crew mapped the bay and he named one of the islands “Alcatraces”  or Island of the Pelicans. There is a large and varied bird population on the island which prompted the name. Over the years the name was changed to Alcatraz.

 

Cannon on Alcatraz Island

A presidential order in 1850 set the island aside for military purposes. A citadel or fortress was built and one hundred cannons were put around the island as a means of protection from anyone trying to invade the U.S. at this entry point.

 

In the latter part of that decade, the government began to send military prisoners to be housed on the island. For the next forty to fifty years there was no call for using the cannons, but the prison aspect of the island was put to use. 

 

Stairs leading to prison.

In 1933, the U.S. Army transferred the island to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Federal Bureau of Prison wanted to use Alcatraz as a maximum security, minimum privilege prison. They would only send the most corrupt or dangerous prisoners to this island. They hoped to slow the increase of horrible crime that erupted in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

 

Alcatraz prison cell

Alcatraz was never at full capacity. Able to hold 336 prisoners, only one prisoner to a cell, the average number of inmates fluctuated between 260 and 275. Many of those prisoners were well known mobsters such as Al Capone, George “machine-Gun” Kelly, Alvin Karpis (the 1^st public enemy #1), and Arthur “Doc” Barker. 

 

Possibly the most famous prisoner was Robert Stroud, also known as the “Birdman

Photo Public Domain
Wikimedia Commons

of Alcatraz.” He was not like the character in the movie portrayed by Burt Lancanster. He didn’t have birds as pets. He was a murderer and while in Leavenworth, he murdered a guard. He was sent to Alcatraz and spent 17 years there in solitary confinement, part of that time in a darkened cell and part in the infirmary. 

 

Stroud did have an interest in birds. He studied books on birds and while at Alcatraz wrote two books about canaries and their diseases. Even in prison he was able to fool the guards. He requested items for scientific research and used them to build a still for making home-brew. 

 

I recently visited Alcatraz with my family when we were on vacation. The visit didn’t excite me, but once there, the history pulled me in. I was fascinated by the stories and the first-hand accounts I listened to on the audio tour. 

 

Solitary Confinement
Cell - Alcatraz

One of the reflections that disturbed me the most was from a former inmate. He talked about being thrown into solitary, a cell that when the door closed would be dark and cave-like. He said the first thing he did when the cell door slammed shut was rip a button from his shirt. He would then drop it on the floor and search for it. He did that over and over to maintain sanity. Others talked about watching movies in their mind to try to keep from going crazy after hours in the dark. 

 

City view from Alcatraz Island

Another former prisoner talked about hearing the New Year’s celebrations on the mainland while they were confined to their cells. He said that was hard to listen to when they had nothing to celebrate and little to bring light in their lives.

 

The cells that were most popular and sought after were the ones closest to the bank of windows. The prisoners in those cells would not have a view of the outside, but would get some sunlight on the days the sun was shining. They all wanted that.

 

The guards and their families that lived on the island had a nice social life. They had parties and dances. It was quite the contrast to the prisoners lives.

Alcatraz Greenhouse

Alcatraz had its own garden where herbs and vegetables were raised. There was a small greenhouse for plants that couldn't grow outside year round.

 

Alcatraz prison closed March 21, 1963. By this time the prison needed extensive upkeep and the expense was too much so they closed it instead. 

 

Now, the island is a major tourist attraction. In 1972, Alcatraz became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It is now open to the public and around a million tourists visit each year.

 

Alcatraz exercise yard

Have you ever visited Alcatraz? There is so much more I could have included but the post would be too long. Alcatraz Island is cold, even in July when we were there. My daughter and I walked out into the exercise yard and the wind was so fierce and chilly we didn’t stay long. Still, I imagine it was nice for the prisoners to get the chance to be outside even for a short time. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Next month, I’ll be talking about the Alcatraz escapes. If you are interested in hearing the audio tour, here is a link to the audio on YouTube.

Nancy J Farrier is an award-winning author who lives in Southern Arizona in the Sonoran Desert. She loves the Southwest with its interesting historical past. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats, and spend time with her family. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.