A new study revealed the possibility of success and failure of the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary escape over 50 years after the infamous prison break.
Dutch scientists have created models for the study that may have answered some of the escape’s lingering questions, according to The Washington Post. The models had displayed that if the three prisoners escaped at a certain time, among other minor conditions, there would be a chance that they survived.
One of the study’s researchers, Dr. Rolf Hut, explained to BBC News that had the prisoners escaped north specifically at midnight, the current from the San Francisco Bay would’ve dragged their makeshift boat to the Golden Gate Bridge. When they got close, the tide would’ve switched at one point, allowing them to continue to the bridge’s northern area. He also explained that if they left any time before or after midnight, the current would have taken them on different courses where they would’ve perished from hypothermia.
The Washington Post said that the escape happened in 1962. Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin, and John Anglin planned an escape from Alcatraz using raincoats on a raft and some makeshift paddles. They were never seen again.