8. Less “Escape-Proof” Than the Authorities Claimed
By the time that Allen West, Frank Morris, and the Anglin brothers arrived at Alcatraz, the place was in dire need of repairs. Rusty pipes were constantly leaking, and the salty sea water had eroded both the ducts and the walls, as well as metal vents. Despite the dilapidated condition of the island fortress, the much-needed renovations and repairs never came. The authorities relied on the Rock’s position within San Francisco Bay as a deterrent to escaping. Seeing as West had already been at Alcatraz for three years before meeting the trio of escapees, he was probably already familiar with the structural weaknesses of the building and was ready to exploit them.
In addition to the saw blades that West procured, the escape artists used everything that they could get their hands on, including spoons and parts from the engine of a discarded vacuum cleaner. Morris put the other three to work, with everything from getting the tools that they would need to figure out how to use them to cut through the rusted metal air vents. Progress was painstakingly slow, but as prisoners in what was possibly the world’s most maximum-security facility, they had nothing but time on their hands. They paid attention to the tiniest details, making sure to replace every grain of sand that fell with toilet paper or cardboard to hide what they were doing from the guards.