Man who escaped Alcatraz sends FBI letter after being free for 50 years

The world can throw some tough s**t at you sometimes making survival a struggle. First things that come to mind are jury duty, dinner with the in-laws, Halo on legendary mode…but escaping Alcatraz and surviving has got to be the biggest of these bastards. So once your done with that it must be smooth sailing. Well not for this poor bloke who escaped, and then years later sent a letter to the FBI asking to go back.

When you escape the inescapable you would expect that to be the toughest thing you could face. But cancer is a bit of a d**khead.

Credit: KPIX

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!

If you announce on TV that I will be promised to first go to jail for no more than a year and get medical attention, I will write back to let you know exactly where I am. This is no joke this is for real and honest truth.

In 1962, Frank Morris, and brothers, Clarence and John Anglin attempted to escape Alcatraz. Their bodies never found and presumed dead. But weight grew around this tale, leading to a movie with Clint Eastwood, a few documentaries and a whole lot of rumblings. If true crime podcasts were around then f**k me it would have been Serial times by about 20, with Clint Eastwood.

Credit: FBI

But I digress. John Anglin allegedly escaped, and then years later sent a nice handwritten note to the FBI asking for what seems to be a fair trade. A year back in prison, if he could have his cancer treated. Now I know you’re saying, ‘hold on a second’, surely this letter was read with a ‘hoax’ type lens. But apparently not, the FBI re-opened the investigation due to the letter (dated 2013) and only just released the letter to the public.

Credit: Paramount Pictures

Now to be fair, the FBI probably know their shit when it comes to this sort of thing. Or maybe they’re just erring on the side of caution. Maybe they like Clint Eastwood movies? Or just maybe the line, ‘This is no joke, this is for real and honest truth’ in the letter really landed. Or finally when they looked at wikipedia and saw old mate John Anglin’s DOB listed as (1930 – ?) it was just too juicy.

Final Thought: At the end of the day I really think they’re thinking about starting their own podcast. Focusing on crazy incidents such as this one, for which I would 100% listen to. FBI please just do it, throw in a Netflix doco as well, we will watch/listen to it. Because honestly there really is some great stuff here!