Trump wants to bring back Alcatraz: Here’s the story of the 1962 ‘great escape’ that still haunts ‘the Rock’

President Donald Trump has announced plans to resurrect Alcatraz, the notorious island prison that once held America’s most dangerous criminals. Closed since 1963, the facility could soon be back in use under a Trump directive aimed at housing what he called “America’s most ruthless and violent offenders.”
In a Truth Social post on Sunday evening, Trump said the federal government would “reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ” in a bid to reclaim law and order. “When we were a more serious Nation… we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm,” Trump wrote.
Former house speaker Nancy Pelosi questioned the feasibility of reviving the crumbling facility now a major tourist attraction managed by the National Park Service. Trump called Alcatraz a “symbol of law and order” and vowed to restore it to its former function.
The prison was closed in 1963, with the government citing high operational costs. However, its reputation as a high-security facility was seriously challenged a year earlier, in 1962, when three inmates escaped and were never seen again. The escape became so infamous that it was later dramatized in the film Escape from Alcatraz, starring Clint Eastwood.

The great escape of 1962

Among the 36 inmates who attempted to escape Alcatraz between 1934 and 1963, none are more famous than Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers John and Clarence. Assigned to adjacent cells, the trio spent months devising a meticulous plan with help from a fourth inmate, Allen West.
Using stolen saw blades, spoons, and a homemade drill fashioned from a vacuum cleaner motor, the men chiselled away at ventilation grilles behind their cells. They concealed their work with cardboard and furniture. Behind the cells was an unguarded utility corridor, which allowed them to move about undetected.

They constructed a makeshift workshop atop their cell block and, using more than 50 stolen raincoats, stitched together a 6-by-14-foot rubber raft and life vests. Paddles were carved from wood, and they even repurposed a concertina to inflate the raft, all while using a crude periscope to watch for guards.

Dummy heads and a daring night

On the night of 11 June 1962, the escape was executed. West failed to remove his grille in time and was left behind. The others placed dummy heads—crafted from plaster, real hair, and paint—in their beds to fool the night guards.

Slipping into the utility corridor, they climbed to the roof, descended a smokestack, and reached the island’s shoreline. There, under the cover of darkness, they launched their homemade raft into the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay.
By the time guards noticed the escape the following morning, the men were long gone.

Evidence and theories

Despite extensive searches, the FBI never found conclusive evidence of their fate. A packet of letters linked to the men was recovered in the Bay, along with pieces of wood and a deflated life vest on Cronkhite Beach. But no bodies were ever found.
The official FBI investigation, which remained open for 17 years, concluded the escapees likely drowned. The water was cold, the currents strong, and the trio lacked verified support or resources on land. Still, the absence of proof has left room for speculation. The 1979 Clint Eastwood film Escape from Alcatraz further fuelled public intrigue.
In 1979, the FBI closed its case, handing responsibility to the U.S. Marshals Service, which technically still considers the men fugitives.

Other attempts

The 1962 breakout was not the only attempt to flee “The Rock.”
In 1937, two inmates disappeared into the Bay and were never seen again. In 1945, another tried to escape disguised in a military uniform stolen from the prison’s laundry, but guards quickly discovered his absence and radioed the departing boat to return.
The most violent attempt occurred in 1946 during what became known as the “Battle of Alcatraz.” Six inmates overpowered guards and gained access to weapons, but failed to open any escape doors. A violent standoff ensued, leaving two officers and three inmates dead. Two surviving inmates were later executed for their roles in the uprising.
In 1962, a separate inmate greased himself with lard to slip through a loosened storage window bar. He swam to shore but collapsed from exhaustion and was recaptured shortly thereafter.