Man Claims He's Infamous Alcatraz Escapee In Newly Surfaced Letter

The letter says all three inmates survived the escape.
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It’s one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in U.S. law enforcement: What happened to the three inmates who broke out of Alcatraz in 1962?

A newly surfaced letter not only claims the trio survived but purports to be from one of them.

My name is John Anglin. I escape from Alcatraz in June 1962 with my brother Clarence and Frank Morris,” the letter which was recently obtained by KPIX 5, the CBS station in San Francisco, read. “I’m 83 years old and in bad shape. I have cancer. Yes we all made it that night but barely!”

The station said the letter was sent to the San Francisco Police Department’s Richmond station in 2013.

Clarence Anglin, John William Anglin and Frank Morris.
Clarence Anglin, John William Anglin and Frank Morris.
Bettmann via Getty Images

The author of the letter claims the other two escapees have died in recent years. He also wrote that he was willing to meet with police if they would state on TV that he would spend no more than a year in jail and offer medical care for his cancer.

Experts were skeptical.

The U.S. Marshals Service told The Washington Post that based on a handwriting analysis and “other factors” they do not believe there was any merit to the letter. The FBI told KPIX its own tests were inconclusive.

On the night of June 11, 1962, three inmates placed dummy heads in their beds and escaped from their cells via vents they had gradually widened using sharpened spoons and other makeshift tools.

Frank Morris' cell after the escape.
Frank Morris' cell after the escape.
Denver Post via Getty Images

Once out of the prison compound itself, they slipped into the waters of San Francisco Bay on a raft made of raincoats and were never seen again.

Since then, there have been dozens of theories about how they likely died, or how they might have survived. If still alive, the three men would be in their late 80s and early 90s.

Before You Go

"Young L.A. Girl Slain; Body Slashed in Two" ― L.A.'s Daily News

10 Major Crimes That Shocked the Nation (SLIDESHOW)

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