Alcatraz prisoners could have survived 1962 escape, scientists say

SAN FRANCISCO — Scientists say the three prisoners who escaped from Alcatraz in one of the most famous and elaborate prison breaks in U.S. history could have survived and made it to land.

Using software to study currents the night of the 1962 escape, three Dutch scientists concluded the three men could have made it to land north of the Golden Gate Bridge if they left between 11:30 p.m. and midnight.

Prison officials and federal agents insisted at the time that the inmates perished, but their bodies were never found.

The three prisoners — brothers John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris — pulled off the escape with stolen spoons, dummy heads and a raincoat raft.

The scientists presented their findings Tuesday at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco.