There must have been quite a lot of excitement and confusion in the control room on June 11, 1962
when three prisoners; Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin successfully carried out one of
the most intricate escapes ever devised.
Behind the prisoners' cells in Cell Block B (where the escapees were interned) was an unguarded
3-foot (0.91 m) wide utility corridor. The prisoners chiseled away the moisture-damaged concrete
from around an air vent leading to this corridor, using tools such as a metal spoon soldered with
silver from a dime and an electric drill improvised from a stolen vacuum cleaner motor. The noise was
disguised by accordions played during music hour, and their progress was concealed by false walls
which, in the dark recesses of the cells, fooled the guards.
The escape route then led up through a fan vent; the fan and motor had been removed and replaced
with a steel grille, leaving a shaft large enough for a prisoner to climb through. The escapees also
constructed an inflatable raft from several stolen raincoats for the trip to the mainland. Leaving
papier-mâché dummies in their cells with stolen human hair from the barbershop for hair, they escaped.
The prisoners are estimated to have entered San Francisco Bay at 10 p.m.
Items belonging to the prisoners, including plywood paddles and parts of the raft, were found on nearby
Angel Island and the official report on the escape concluded that the prisoners drowned while
trying to reach the mainland in the cold waters of the bay. Their bodies were never found.

The attempt inspired the 1979 film Escape from Alcatraz starring Clint Eastwood as Frank Morris.