up next on a second look, you've seen the tv show, you've seen the movie, but what really lies beneath the old prison on alcatraz island. plus only three inmates ever made it off the rock without being captured. where are they today? we examine the mystery and talk to the relatives of two of them. all straight ahead on a second look. hello everyone i'm frank somerville and welcome to a second look. tonight we take you to one of

the most notorious prisons and popular tourists spots in history. that of course would be alcatraz island. alcatraz has drawn renewed interest with the introduction of the fox tv series that puts a whole new twist on the prisons closure back in 1963. in the fictional retelling the prisoners and guards all disappeared. that's not the only part of the show that's pure fabrication. so is this high tech headquarters underneath the prison it simply doesn't exist. nor does this elaborate series of under ground caves and abandoned equipment. on the rock with nicholas cage and sean connery. so what's really under alcatraz? >> reporter: seen from the bay it's a beautiful place imposing

and mysterious. but get closer and alcatraz seems like -- today the rock is a favorite for visitors, but it is -- large parts of the island are still closed to tourists including the underground parts. naomi griff started the tour with a bunker that predates the prison. >> this was to store ammunition between the batteries. >> it's a perfect place for a

picnic isn't it? >> yes, lovely. >> these walls must be, how thick could these be? >> these are 3 feet deep and 8 feet deep. >> and they are all brick? >> uh-huh. >> reporter: where are you taking me. >> we're going to the north capinier. >> this is slimy in here. >> well, bunker oil was stored down here. >> reporter: beneath one of the cell blocks, naomi led me to underground cells, the bars were removed years ago. >> this was what a solitary cell, they people put down here. there's no lighting or anything, totally in the dark. >> that's correct. >> oh, brother. that's solitary all right. >> it is. >> wow. >> reporter: through a maze of

underground channels, naomi and i looked for a famous hole prisoners used. that's the famous hole. >> that's the famous hole. >> if anyone ever found this they could have shimmied out through there. >> and escaped. >> it would have been a dangerous escape. >> it would have been. >> thank you. >> reporter: the country's toughest maximum security prison and it certainly earned that reputation for 30 years. in 1992, george watson looked back at the history of and the island notorious. the evolution of alcatraz has been as spectacular as it has been predictable. it was obvious that sooner or later the military fortress would evolve into a prison fortress and for good reason. the island nded by bay

waters that behave like unforgiving open ocean. the island is remote, wind swept, fog shrouded and more than a mile from the mainland. it sounds ugly but to penologist it was beautiful and escape proof. the military thinking prior to the civil warsaw the island as a strategic way to controlling the water. alcatraz was part prison from the beginning. when the first boats arrived, inmates were among them. during the civil war the army transformed the rock into the most heavily armed fortress west of the mississippi. but the giant cannons never fired or shot in anger. the anticipated attack by the south never happened and by war's end alcatraz was obsolete as a force. but as a prison it was still ideal for all but the

prisoners. >> well, after the years of civil war this room was converted from a gun room into jail cells for military prisoners. 14 long wooden cells were in this space. back in here, this room which was an access into some slots was converted into a solitary confinement section. there were nine solitary confinement cells in this little space. vertical. the men would have to stand up inside these cells. it was just enough room for their knees to hit the door. >> reporter: military lawbreakers of the civil war, the spanish american war and both world wars had the misfortune to call alcatraz home. the war department turned alcatraz over to the federal bureau of prisons. it would become the toughest prison in the federal system gaining instant notoriety when its new tenants included the most known and powerful gangsters in the country.

>> machine gun kelly just sentenced. alcatraz is right. >> reporter: the prohibition era of the 1920s produced a collection of gangsters that were as renowned and colorful as they were dangerous. their imprisonment on alcatraz enhanced its reputation. the toughest play on earth for the toughest criminals in the nation orr so was the rock presumed. cameras not even movie cameras were ever allowed on alcatraz. the list of criminals criminals sent to alcatraz was impressive but the life they were to lead on this island reflected the fact that they were just common criminals with just a measure of fame. >> this is d block the isolation wing here in alcatraz. this was home to some of the

most infamous criminals. they included al capone. the first prisoners arrived by train under the greatest secrecy. railcars carried the prisoners then they were marched silent hi in silence to what must have been the most forbidden sight they had ever seen. prisoners were allowed out for three 20 minute meals. their mail was heavily censored. five by 9-foot cells became the sum of their existence. time weighed heavy in this bleak damp place they called the rock. still to come on a second look, the history books show two escape attempts from the rock. the first led to a bloody gun battle that lasted for two days. we'll tell you how it ended. a bit later the second escape ended in mystery, a mystery that remains unsolved

to this day.

it's been said that desperate men do desperate things. alcatraz prison was filled with desperate men. some of them hatched escapes. here's george watson 1992 back at two deadly days that helped cement alcatraz imagine as a dark and forbidden place. >> reporter: when alcatraz became a federal prison in 1933 it carried a simple but chilling mandate. the rock was to be a place of punishment. no more, no less. >> we look forward to great things, from the use of alcatraz prison. >> mr. attorney general, alcatraz is ready. >> the inmates sent here were the worse of the worse.

too dangerous and encoragable to get along in other prisons. the inmates would cross these stairs and pass through a metal detector. you have to wonder if they won't look over their shoulder and look at the city that would for years look over them. even the tightest security could be overcome by desperate men who feel they have little or nothing to lose. that's what happened back on alcatraz in 1946 the result was the deadliest escape attempt in the history of the rock. as many as 12 inmates took part in planning the outbreak but only three were involved in the bloody shoot out that followed. two lifers, and a long term convict. >> it came to be known as the

battle of alcatraz. the fighting lasted for three days. the inmates took on the coast guard and guards. >> reporter: after lunch clean up they overpowered a guard and took his keys. they were able to open most but not all of the cells. their main objective was to get to the gun gallery which coy managed to do by climbing a mesh wall to the top. once there he used a steel bar to spread the bars just enough to get through. coy overpowered the guard there. the unmanageable was now back. the prisoners had guns. >> it was a gory affair when you consider that 20 men were shot, 20 men could have died. fortunately only two if you can use only in a death, only two of them tide. when you consider they had as many as six men in one cell, a

cell being five feet by 9 feet, and you had the kind of characters outside the cell who had no morals whatsoever. just opened fire on them. >> reporter: guards crouched and ran along outside the cell block, exchanging gunfire with the convicts that were now armed as well. the three inmates who instigated the fight were holding hostage. thousands of people watched the fighting on alcatraz from the safety of the city's hills. >> scene of the bloody battle of alcatraz. the penal island surrounded by currents of san francisco bay. here for nearly 40 hours of murderous mutiny, on convict shouted out with guards. this term forbidding rock where they inprison the most hardened

criminals in the country. a lighthouse looks down on the scenery for drama and sudden death. the pitch battle left 15 guards wounded and two dead. the three leaders were found dead shot to death in a utility corridor in cell lock 3. prison officials allowed the media to photograph the fingerprinting of the dead men. two other inmates were later executed in san quentin's gas chamber for their part in the riot. the battle of alcatraz was over. the lingering mystery of the three men who escaped from alcatraz 50 years ago and were never heard from again. how the 1962 escape of frank morris and the anglin brothers helped seal the faith of the prison on alcatraz. the anglin's sister tells rita williams what she thinks happened to her brothers. if you want less, you can always have less,

but i like having a lot more a lot more than having a lot less. and the more more i have, the more i like having more. and that's exactly what i get at embassy suites. more post-meeting celebrations, more complimentary drinks, more for my money... mmm, more bar snacks... ♪ more olives. definitely.

i want so much more it's more more than a mortal man can handle. now that's more like it. [ female announcer ] complimentary drinks. free breakfast. more room. embassy suites. get more. i've seen your stunts online. i can explain... jumping a ramp in a shopping cart. so 2005. wait, what? and only 3 likes? honey, it's embarrassing. carol's son got over 12 million views on that dancing squirrel video. don't you want that? i...i suppose. now go make your dad and me proud. tryomething funny. [ male announcer ] now everyone's up to speed. get high speed internet for $14.95 a month for 12 months with a one year term. at&t.

when they built it, prison officials called alcatraz escape proofen and for the most part they were right. only one group of inmates made it off the island and remain uncaptured. clarence angwin, john angwin and frank morris all disappeared from the rock. and for a half century the mystery has remained. did they survive the waters and live out their life? >> reporter: the decision to close alcatraz had actually been made in 1961. the rock was too expensive to maintain and operate and it wasn't really needed anymore. but nobody said anything about the decaying concrete and the

ingenious escape that had gone on in 1962. >> forbidding alcatraz prison has its name for in inpregnability from escape. >> reporter: frankly morris was a 31-year-old bank robber and the presumed master a mind of the escape. he was served by two brothers,anglin. the cement áeut was -- itself was 6-inches deep. they could climb down the walls to the water where they encountered the possibility of freedom or death. no one knows for certain what happened once they made the water but one thing is for

sure, they got off the island. the escapers left behind everything they used to break out. today all of it is still being held as evidence. at the time of the escape it was thought they dug through alcatraz's crumbling walls with spoons. they had spoons already but also an array of handmade tools. they even made a crude flashlight. they fashioned fake cardboard grills to cover the holes we were digging in the cell walls but their crowning akhaoáufplt a -- achievement is the heads they made to fashion to look like they were sleeping in the

cell. >> just think of my first reaction it was shock. i was shocked to find these guys were not there. >> reporter: there was painting going on in the first floor of the cell block. the guards agreed toen a inmate request to hang blankets from the top tier. the blankets would hide morris and the anglin when they removed the vent. that was not the only breech of security. >> security did fall off quality wise if certain prison practices had been followed a little more stringently for example, making the men change cells more frequently, they would have never had the time to do the work that they did. you can be sure that when those men were working on those vents, they were on their best behavior to prevent a transfer

of cells. >> reporter: joline bobiack used to live on alcatraz. her father was the acting warden during the escape. she remembers what happened the night of june 12th, 1962. >> the prisoners probably left after we had all gone to bed or after we left the playground. but we were playing out and we all went to bed, no one knew about the escape or the plans. which had been in effect for six months maybe, eight months. we-- the siren went off around 7:15, that was the first time i knew something was wrong. >> so the escapers had about a seven hour head start before their disappearance was discovered. dismayed officials sat stunned in the cells with the dummy head and gaping holes in the wall. now for 30 years the question has been asked, did frank

morris and clarence anglin get off the rock and live? >> i don't think so. if you look at the circumstantial evidence it doesn't look probable. the men were repetitive criminals. it was reported that morris had 14 prior escape attempts and in every attempt he was brought back. >> two more convicts escaped in december of 1962, one man actually made it to san francisco where he was captured half dead from hypothermia but that was the end for alcatraz. the toughest thing that cons could do passed into history. members of the anglin family travel to the prison where their brothers escaped from in 1962.

tonight on a second look we've been remembering an escape a half century ago of three men from alcatraz. rita williams traveled to the rock with family members of those men who say they believe their relatives made it to freedom and possibly even sent a message to the family. >> it was june 11th 1962 and it was big news. >> it appears to be the first successful escape in the history of the maximum security prison. the men the walls could not hurt were morris and john and clarence anglin. >> reporter: two of the men who escaped were brothers, on and on this advertise brother, and two sisters came here. >> if we can go out there to see what it was like.

>> reporter: the anglin family looked at the side by side cell. trying to imagine their brothers. >> no wonder they wanted to get out. >> that was in the past. >> reporter: they saw the vents in the cell, the escaping prisoners enlarged them crawled through and the piles the prisoners climbed up to to get to a ventilation pipe. >> all they had to do was shove the whole thing over. >> reporter: then they sprinted in the darkness a across the roof, down a pipe and into the water. what happens after that is open to debate. did they drown? a homemade life vest and raft came ashore but no body. or did they make it across to land. >> i think it was very cold,

the tides running very swiftly, the possibility is they drowned. >> reporter: donna navy spent a decade investigating their attempt. hitching a ride to san francisco and to freedom. >> there's no question in my mind. they were too brilliant to get down to the water and then get to the water and ask, what do we do now? drown? >> i always knew they made it but today i just had more of a feeling. >> reporter: although the family has no proof john and clarence anglin survived and are alive now 30 years later, they say an excon has reported seeing the brothers recently on a ranch the two own in brazil. and the family says, a funeral homeowner noticed two mysterious bearded men around before their father's funeral and -- >> that first christmas, my mom got a christmas card and my

oldest sister got one. and j.w.'s girlfriend got one. it was signed joe and jerry. family knew joe and jerry. >> it's kind of hard to tell because you just got them on your mind and you just wonder if they are really alive or if you just want to think they are. i don't know that they made it. i never heared from them myself directly but i hope they did. and i just wish them well. >> and that's it for this week's second look. i'm frank somerville. we'll see you again next week.