Letters From Alcatraz - Michael Esslinger [225]
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 period. It was also rumored that Morris, who had a passion for reading about aviation-related subjects, had talked about stealing a helicopter to make a rapid departure from the Bay Area. The FBI and the FAA came up with no potential leads on this angle, and in any case, it is very unlikely that Morris could actually fly a helicopter, as he had claimed to a fellow inmate.
• Sources reported that these three men had neither friends nor relatives with the resources to come to San Francisco and assist in the escape. The cost of putting a boat in the Bay night after night to assist in the escape would have been thousands of dollars. The families and friends of the trio were investigated regarding their financial resources, and their hypothetical role as accomplices was eventually ruled out. There would have been no possible way for the inmates to communicate with outside contacts in order to confirm the date and progress of their break.
• Critics on the other side of the debate claimed that the fact that no bodies were found amounted to “proof” that the inmates had made it successfully to the mainland. The reality was that it was common for people who perished in the Bay