Alcatraz_ A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years - Michael Esslinger [151]
Boarman’s eyes were open, but glazed over by the seawater as Brest tried to maintain his grip on his accomplice’s limp body. Boarman was bleeding profusely from what appeared to be a bullet wound behind his left ear. The Prison Launch McDowell pulled alongside the two inmates, with Officer Sutter aiming his muzzle at Brest’s head. Brest struggled to hang on to Boarman’s belt, but as the officers attempted to latch it with a boat hook, the belt broke, and Boarman slowly disappeared into the green murky depths. Brest was pulled into the launch and wrapped in blankets, then returned to the island. He was immediately taken to the prison hospital and examined. He had sustained only a minor bullet wound to his elbow.
“Little Alcatraz” is seen just beyond the buoy.
Hamilton had been able to swim to “Little Alcatraz” using the large wood plank as a float, but when he heard the bullets whizzing past his head he tried to keep himself submerged for as long as he could hold his breath. He apparently clung to the small rocks of “Little Alcatraz,” and then swam back towards the island, lifting his head out of the water only long enough to take a deep breath. Hamilton made his way back into the island cave where Hunter was hiding. Warden Johnston had already assembled a team of three officers to explore the rocky shoreline in an attempt to locate the stranded inmates. Associate Warden Ed Miller walked the island perimeter, while a boat with a powerful spotlight covered the officers from the water. Standing near the mouth of the cave, Miller noticed a blood smear on one of the rocks. He yelled into the small cavern, demanding that any hiding inmates surrender or be fired upon. When he received no response, he decided to fire a round from his colt .45 pistol into the dark void. Fred Hunter, who was hiding behind some tires and nearly neck deep in water, immediately raised his arms to surrender. Unknown to Miller, Hamilton was still in hiding under several tires.
Officer Johnson had reported back to the Warden that he had fired upon at least three inmates and that Hamilton had probably met his death, as Boarman had. The prison launch patrolled the waters around the island for hours, but when there was no sign of Hamilton, Johnston started to feel confident that the inmate had perished in the downpour of gunfire alongside his accomplice. He was so convinced of this that he released a statement to the press reading in part: “Hamilton is dead. He was shot, and we saw him go under.”
Hamilton would remain in hiding until April 16th barricaded far back into the cave area. After several days in hiding and many close calls where he was nearly discovered by officers searching inside the cave entrance, freezing and hungry, he decided to seek shelter in the old Electric Shop. Captain Weinhold, who had returned to reexamine the scene of the escape, found Hamilton curled in a fetal position, weak from hunger and exposure. He was admitted to the prison hospital and treated for a multitude of injuries. Hamilton was then moved into the D Block segregation unit, and would remain there until September 1, 1945. Hunter would be released back into general prison population on January 22, 1945. Brest remained in D Block segregation until May 21, 1944.
A letter to the Warden from Harold Brest, asking that he be transferred from Alcatraz.
Hamilton was released from Alcatraz in August of 1952, and was sent back to Leavenworth. He was eventually set free, and returned to Dallas on July