SAN FRANCISCO — 1962 · Missing Person

The 1962 Alcatraz Escape

UnsolvedSources: ALast updated: 14 October 2026

On the night of 11 June 1962, Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin escaped from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, the maximum-security prison in San Francisco Bay. After months of preparation, they left dummy heads resembling themselves in their beds, climbed through ventilation ducts to the roof and set off on a raft made from raincoats. Nothing conclusive was ever heard of them again. In 1979 the FBI concluded on circumstantial evidence that they most likely drowned in the cold water and closed its file, while the U.S. Marshals Service kept the case open. Examination of a 2013 letter purportedly from one of the escapees proved inconclusive.

Date: 1962
Place: California, USA, San Francisco, US
Category: Missing Person
Case Status: Unsolved
Coordinates: 37.8267, -122.4230 ↗

Timeline of Events

11 June 1962Three inmates escaped through ventilation ducts and set off into the bay.
June 1962Pieces of the raft and personal items were found in the bay; no bodies were recovered.
1963Alcatraz penitentiary was closed.

1979The FBI closed its file, concluding the men had probably drowned.
2013A letter purportedly from one escapee was examined; results were inconclusive.

Sources

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