There are some mysteries in the world that remain unclear, and this mystery couldn’t even be solved by the FBI.
John Anglin, a criminal who was imprisoned in Alcatraz back in 1962, attempted to escape along with his brother and a compatriot. Their fates remained unknown for dozens of years, and the FBI presumed that they were either dead or managed to hide and stay off the radar.
A new mysterious letter supposedly sent by John Anglin is now re-opening this cold case.
The 1962 Alcatraz jailbreak has been well-documented, even on the official website of the FBI. John and his brother Clarence Anglin were locked up and have been on a dark path in life ever since they were little. They first came into contact with law enforcement at the age of 14 for breaking and entering.
However, things quickly escalated. They later robbed banks when they grew older. If it’s any consolation, the Anglin brothers didn’t try to injure people and usually used their wit instead of brute force.
When they were locked up in Alcatraz, they aligned themselves with Frank Morris. Just like the two brothers, Morris has been a criminal since his teens and has a lengthy sheet. He’s mostly known for possession of narcotics and armed robberies. The man was locked up in Lousiana State Penitentiary at first but was relocated to Alcatraz after he escaped the prison in Lousiana. However, one jailbreak clearly wasn’t enough for Morris.
Alcatraz was known for its difficulty to escape, but the three came up with a strange plan.
As the name suggests, the penitentiary is located directly on Alcatraz Island. The water surrounding the facility is anything but friendly: temperatures are freezing cold and the currents are generally very strong. Those who were able to make it into the water simply froze to death or drowned. During the years that the prison was active, over 30 people have attempted to escape via the water – and it’s believed that not a single one of those succeeded, until now.
The planning phase of their escape started one year before the actual attempt. During the year, they gathered and stole spoons, saw blades, papier-mache, raincoats, and even two accordions.
The three were able to widen their ventilation ducts, and the sounds of an accordion managed to cover the noise while they were working.
Eventually, all three of them made it up to the roof of the three-story prison. They brought no less than fifty raincoats and stitched them together to make an improvised raft. Another accordion actually helped them to inflate it.
The guards had no idea that the trio escaped at first because they used papier-mache heads and stuck them in their beds. Primitive, but it gave them just enough time to attempt an escape.
Of course, they hadn’t made it into the water just yet. The three inmates needed to slide down a vent pipe and had to overcome lots of barbed wire. Somewhat surprisingly, they managed to sneak past the several searchlights and armed towers as well and managed to take their DIY-raft into the water.
The case was closed in 1979, seventeen years after the escape.
No clue of the three inmates was ever found, and they also never recovered the raft.
Fast-forward fifty years, and this case is now taking a new and mysterious turn.
In 2018, television station KPIX received a mysterious letter from someone who claimed to be none other than John Anglin.
“My name is John Anglin,” the letter said. “I escaped from Alcatraz in June 1962 with my brother Clarence and Frank Morris. I’m 83 years old and in bad shape. I have cancer. Yes we all made it that night but barely!”
His message revealed that the man was dealing with cancer and was unable to get treatment.
“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. This is no joke.”
Law enforcement was and still is skeptical of the letter’s authenticity, and testing of fingerprints and DNA on the letter ended up being inconclusive.
Could this be the real John Anglin?
Even though the FBI assumes that the man is dead and Alcatraz was considered to be ‘escape-proof’, mainly due to the surrounding and frigid waters, there’s a real chance that the three criminals actually escaped the prison.
Dutch researchers recreated the scene in 2014 and came to the conclusion that a chance of survival was unlikely, but absolutely possible if they paddled hard.
Anglin’s family also claims that they’ve been in contact over the years, and there’s even a photograph of the two brothers that would support this claim. Their mother also receiver three Christmas cards – and even though the date couldn’t be determined, it was proven that it was their handwriting. None of the remains found near the bay coasts was a match for the Anglin brothers.
According to several reports, the brothers were encouraged by their compatriots to cut all ties after their escape.
In other words, there’s a real chance that John Anglin wrote this letter – although we’ll probably never know for sure.
Learn more in the video below.
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