Mystery letter from ‘one of three prisoners believed to have died in 1962 Alcatraz escape attempt’ using raft made from raincoats sees FBI re-open case
The phantom author, who claims to have cancer, promises to go back to prison in exchange for medical care
THE FBI have reopened the cold case into three Alcatraz Prison escapees after receiving a letter claiming to be from one of the trio.
Brothers John and Clarence Anglin, along with fellow inmate Frank Morris, are believed to have died after tunnelling out of their cells and vanishing into the cold, rough waters surrounding the now-defunct island penitentiary in 1962.
But the prison's iconic boast that no prisoner has ever escaped alive may now be under threat after cops were sent a mysterious note starting: "My name is John Anglin."
Sent to a San Francisco Police Department in 2013 and made public this week, it goes on: "I escaped 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."
The phantom author claims Frank "passed away" in 2008 and his brother John died three years later.
He then aims to strike an astonishing deal with the FBI, writing: "This is no joke.
"If you announce on TV that I'll 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."
The FBI lab analysed the letter for DNA and fingerprints but their results were inconclusive, reported.
The fate of the escapees has been the subject of much speculation over the decades, thanks in no small part to the 1979 Clint Eastwood movie based on their getaway, Escape From Alcatraz.
Along with accomplice Morris, the bank robbing Anglin brothers crept out of their cells via holes dug for months with spoons.
It was believed they then attempted to paddle to freedom from Alcatraz Island on a raft made from 50 raincoats.
The FBI concluded the inmates most likely either drowned in the fierce, cold currents of San Francisco Bay or died of hypothermia.
But in 2016, their nephews reignited the mystery by presenting the police with a photo which they claimed was John and Clarence in Brazil in 1975.
In a documentary screened in the US, Ken and David Widner, of Georgia, claimed their uncles were picked up by a criminal associate who whisked them to freedom in South America.
They then presented a photo they claim was taken on a Brazilian farm owned by the men.
It featured two men with a striking resemblance to the Anglins standing on the roadside.
They recently gave it to ex-US marshal Art Roderick, who headed a 20-year probe into the escape, saying it was taken by family friend Fred Brizzi.
A forensic expert who compared the faces to their mugshots said they were "very likely" the same men.
The Widners also handed over Christmas cards signed with Clarence and John's names which were delivered to their mother, with no postage, for three consecutive years after the escape.