Alcatraz_ A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years - Michael Esslinger [225]
A life jacket that was found just fifty yards east of the Alcatraz Dock. The vest was saturated with stains (originally thought to have been blood but later ruled out as being grease), and there were teeth marks around the air tube. Based on this evidence, it was concluded that the inmate who wore it was desperately attempting to maintain enough air pressure to keep afloat. The prisoners had used binder claps to seal the air inside the vests, and these were probably unable to sustain adequate air pressure.
Allen West’s life vest, shown here fully inflated.
Another lifejacket was found by a couple walking along a section of Cronkite Beach in Marin County, almost four miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. The couple saw an object floating fifty feet from the shore, and waited a few minutes for it to wash up. It was a life jacket identical to the one made for West, which had been found on top of the cellhouse. This one also revealed additional interesting clues. The jacket was deflated, and the paper clip that held the air tube closed was missing. There was also a small tear at the seam, which had allowed air to escape. West stated that their plan had been to cut up the floats once they came ashore, and throw them back into the water.
The inmates concealed their discarded tools and equipment inside a five-gallon container, and then filled it with plaster. Investigators found wire, spoon handles, steel bars, the vacuum cleaner motor, staples, a homemade flashlight, ladle handles, and other bits of contraband embedded in the hardened plaster.
In the aftermath of the escape, correctional officers swarmed through the cellhouse, conducting meticulous inspections of every cell in B Block.
Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, known as the "Al Capone of Harlem," was very well-liked by both inmates and officers. He was considered highly intelligent and a sophisticated inmate who would serve two terms on the Rock. It would be rumored decades later by a fellow inmate that Bumpy had assisted in the 1962 escape by helping arrange a pick-up by boat. This theory was never proven.
For decades people speculated as to whether this famous escape attempt had been successful. The FBI launched an intensive investigation, following every possible lead, and after spending nearly two decades painstakingly exploring physical and circumstantial evidence, the Bureau finally resolved that the inmates had not succeeded. There were several key points of the investigation that would ultimately cast doubt on the success of the escape attempt by Frank Morris, and John and Clarence Anglin. Through careful examination of the available evidence, one can form one’s own opinion as to whether or not the inmates made it to freedom. Numerous other reports were filed, including testimony from Alcatraz Officer Cliff Fish, who adamantly claimed that he had found a boat near the wharf at Angel Island, abandoned with copious amounts of blood on the flooring, which he stated was “impossibly more” that could have resulted from fishing. Another telegram alleged that a deflated raft was found on Angel Island with foot prints that leading away into the rugged terrain. No pieces of evidence were ever recovered or substantiated.
Consider the following evidence assembled by the FBI:
• The formal plan was to steal a car and then perpetrate a burglary at a clothing store. No reports of any such crime were filed in Marin County within a twelve-day period following the escape. None of the other surrounding counties, including San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and Monterey County reported any related or suspicious crimes within a similar time