A letter allegedly written by one of the three men believed to have escaped from Alcatraz in 1962 has been publicly released.
The letter, which was obtained by authorities in 2013, was allegedly sent by escaped convict John Anglin.
CBS San Francisco reported the following:
The men have become folklore – fueled by Hollywood and popular shows. And in the last 55 years, theories about their fate have multiplied as new evidence surfaces.
A letter allegedly written by one of the escapees recently came to light. KPIX 5 exclusively obtained it from a source.
“My name is John Anglin. I escape 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!”
The FBI says this is the most recent piece of evidence that forced the agency to reopen the iconic cold case. The letter was sent to the San Francisco Police Department’s Richmond station in 2013.
CBS also reported that the letter contained an offer for a deal if John Anglin could get medical attention and only a year in jail.
The prison escape of the Anglin brothers and Morris is believed to be the only escape attempt from Alcatraz that might have actually been successful. The FBI has maintained that they died, but the evidence has been lacking.
The reality of the situation is that nobody really has any idea what happened to the three men, and it’s been the source of speculation for years. Of course, anything to do with Alcatraz is bound to move the needle.
The island prison in San Francisco was made famous by the presence of Al Capone and the Sean Connery and Nic Cage movie “The Rock.”
Connery’s character in “The Rock” is very loosely-based on the actions of the Anglin brothers and Morris. His character is the only man who ever successfully escaped from the maximum security prison.
Morris would be 90, John Anglin would be 86 and Clarence Anglin would 87 years old today if they were all still alive today, according to the same CBS San Francisco report.
I think it’s safe to say they’ve earned they freedom if they successfully evaded capture for nearly 60 years.