A trove of Alcatraz data has revealed secret FBI findings about a little-known sighting of the first two inmates to ever escape from the notorious prison.
The collection of historical news stories and photos was shared with DailyMail.com by the Genealogy Platform MyHeritage on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the arrival of the first prisoners at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary on Sunday, August 11, 1934.
Among them was a short newspaper article from a 1939 edition of the Kentucky New Era revealing that the two Oklahoma bank robbers — Theodore “Ted” Cole, 27, nicknamed “Teddy the Terror,” and Ralph Roe, 33 — had reportedly been spotted in Pueblo, Colorado, after escaping from Alcatraz on December 16, 1937.
An ex-convict claimed he had been playing with the pair, leading the FBI in Oklahoma City to step up the search for the duo.
“Although no police officer had seen the Oklahoma desperadoes since they disappeared into the fog on December 16, 1937, Nat J. Pieper, FBI chief in San Francisco, admitted that the search was continuing in every office,” the July 6, 1939, article said.
An aerial view shows Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary or ‘The Rock’ in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Alcatraz Island is located 1.25 miles (2.01 km) off the coast of San Francisco
Bank robbers Theodore “Ted” Cole, 27, (left) and Ralph Roe, 33, (right) escaped from Alcatraz in 1937
The New Kentucky New Era published an article about Ted Cole and Ralph Roe on July 6, 1939
The Lewiston Tribune reported at the time: “Dead or alive, they were the only two men ever to evade the guards’ vigilance and reach the sea in an escape attempt since the island became a prison in 1934.”
Cole and Roe had been transported to Alcatraz after two failed escape attempts at other prisons. They were assigned to the prison’s mat shop and later used a file to cut through the iron bars of the prison windows before fleeing to the water.
The men reportedly encountered dense fog and stormy conditions, leading officials to believe they had drowned, but no bodies were ever found.
The pair’s audacious escape was later overshadowed by the most famous – and most daring – prison break in Alcatraz’s 29-year history by notorious trio of bank robbers – Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin – who escaped on June 11, 1962.
The brothers and Morris dug tunnels through their cells, crawled through ventilation ducts and through an unsecured access door before fleeing into the shark-infested bay on a homemade raft.
Morris, who worked as a prison barber and was known as the mastermind behind the operation, even had fake heads made from plaster and human hair to fool the night guards into looking like they were still in their cells.
Their bodies were never found, leading to wild speculation about where they might have ended up and whether they might still be alive.
MyHeritage.com has now published digitally enhanced color photos of the trio and shared a selection of old newspaper clippings from the time of their daring escape.
The Sarasota Journal published an article on June 11, 1962, illustrating the growing concern as the search for the missing men continued two days later.
Under the headline “Three Alcatraz Cons Still Free,” it explained how air, sea and ground patrols searched the bay for the escape artists.
Before Alactraz closed its doors for good in 1963, there were a total of 14 escapes involving 36 prisoners.
Reports say 23 were captured, six were shot during the attempt, two drowned, and five were never found..
Frank Lee Morris was one of three who escaped from Alcatraz in 1962. Morris was the alleged mastermind behind the operation. The enhanced photos were taken by MyHeritage Color
Clarence Anglin (pictured), his brother John, and Morris escaped from Alcatraz on the evening of June 11, 1962, after executing a careful escape that involved digging through their cell walls
The three escapees used fake heads to fool guards and a handmade raft made of raincoats in what has been described as the “most audacious” prison break in US history. Pictured: One of the escapees, John Anglin
The article that appeared in The Sarasota Journal on June 13, 1962 about the hunt for the missing prisoners
MyHeritage also shared a series of newspaper articles published in the months leading up to Alcatraz’s opening.
“A prison in San Francisco Bay from which there would be no escape,” reported The Southeast Missourian on June 30, 1934.
The dummy is made of plaster to imitate a human head with real hair, eyebrows and eyelashes
Other reports describe the incredible measures the prison had taken to prevent escapes.
A February 1934 issue of the Evening Star reported that the federal government at one point considered installing an “invisible, mysterious magnetic field trap” that would “set off an alarm if a prisoner came too close to unguarded gates or walls.”
The men placed the fake heads in their beds to fool the prison night guards
The Spokesman Review added on April 5, 1934, that “walls that see and gates that speak” will probably be installed.
The newspaper clipping also mentioned other ways in which people would not be able to escape from the prison, such as how “specially trained guards, skilled in criminology, psychology, wrestling, boxing and jiu-jitsu, would be put in charge of that prison.”
The director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons told the media at the time, “We want something smarter than sluggers to deal with these dangerous men.”
When Alcatraz finally opened its doors in August 1934, the press was again enthusiastic.
The media hype was fueled by the arrival of the most famous prisoner ever on August 22, 1934: gangster Alphonso “Al” Capone.
The Lewiston Morning Tribune reported: ‘Scarface Capone and 52 other inmates slept in their cells on Alcatraz Island last night.’
Sanford Bates, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, said the former Chicago gangster had been sent to the so-called “Devil’s Island” in the United States.
The Brownsville Herald ran a different story: “100 Criminals Locked Up in Island Jail” — adding that among the “trainload” of prisoners brought in was the infamous “George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelley.”
Al Capone’s arrest photo when he arrived at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary on August 22, 1934
An August 20, 1934, article in the Lewiston Morning Tribune reported on how Alcatraz was preparing for the arrival of Capone and the other inmates.
A news clipping from The Sportsman Review
Roi Mandel, head of research at MyHeritage, told DailyMail.com: “As we mark the 90th anniversary of Alcatraz, MyHeritage is delving deep into historical documents, including our vast OldNews archive – a collection of millions of historical newspaper articles – to shed new light on the stories that defined this infamous prison.”
“From its reputation as an ‘escape-proof’ fortress to its daring breakouts, this rich historical record allows us to reexamine and preserve the legacy of Alcatraz. By using these invaluable resources, we continue to unravel the myths and mysteries that have gripped the world for decades,” he added.
He added that the animated footage shown above was created from still photos using a feature called DeepNostalgia, which is designed to create a realistic representation of how a person would have moved and looked if they were captured on video.