The Escape From Alcatraz

At the time of the escape, the tide was flowing out of the bay and the wind was blowing into it. These factors would have affected the prisoners differently depending on if they were above the water on the raft or submerged in it (The True Story: Escape from Alcatraz). The main danger of the San Francisco Bay is not man-eating sharks. The only sharks in the Bay are small, bottom feeding ones so the real danger is the frigid temperature of the water. The average temperature of the Bay is fifty to fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit (“BOP: Alcatraz”). The inmates probably suffered from hypothermia and would have experienced a loss of coordination, mental confusion, and breathing difficulties. People have swum the distance in the cold water, but they were in shape and strong. The prisoners had no control over their diet and had little time to work out (The True Story: Escape from Alcatraz).

Five days after the escape a letter arrived at the FBI office in San Francisco saying, “Haha, We Made It”. Neither fingerprints nor handwriting matched so it was most likely a hoax. Items such as letters belonging to the men, pieces of raft, and a paddle were found a few days later along with a body floating in the San Francisco Bay wearing the same clothes as the inmates at Alcatraz. The body was too badly deteriorated to identify. The FBI worked on this case for seventeen years finding no real evidence suggesting the men are dead or alive. The case was officially closed and handed over to the U.S. Marshals Service on December 31, 1979 (The True Story: Escape from Alcatraz).

What most likely happened was the prisoners suffered from hypothermia, drowned, drifted underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, and then were washed out into the Pacific Ocean. There is still a possibility that the three men made it, but no crimes were associated with them such as stealing clothes and cars. If the Anglins are alive today they would be in their late seventies. If Morris is still alive today he would be in his early eighties (The True Story: Escape from Alcatraz).

The three prisoners most likely died but there is the possibility they survived the frigid cold waters of the San Francisco Bay and made it to land and are in hiding right now. If they did make it, they are probably far from Alcatraz enjoying freedom. It is still a mystery today whether Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin actually got the best of the Rock and escaped or if the fierce San Francisco Bay took their lives.

Works Cited

“BOP: Alcatraz.” BOP: Federal Bureau of Prisons Website. 07 March 2009 .

Discovery Communications, LLC. “Alcatraz Webisodes: Episode 11.” 02 July 2008. Online video clip. Investigation Discovery. Accessed on 08 March 2009. .

Dowswell. Tales of Real Escape (Usborne Readers’ Library). Grand Rapids: E.D.C., 1995.

“Federal Bureau of Investigation-A Byte Out of History. Escape from Alcatraz.” FBI-FederalBureau of Investigation Homepage. 07 March 2009 .

Veoh Networks, Inc. “The True Story: Escape from Alcatraz.” 04 June 2008. Online Video Clip. YouTube. Accessed on March 08, 2009. .