For 55 years, the 1962 escape of Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin from Alcatraz has been one of America’s greatest unsolved mysteries. Alcatraz, known as “The Rock,” was considered an inescapable super-security prison, not just because of the harsh conditions, but because it was on an island surrounded by the frigid, treacherous waters of the San Francisco Bay.

Over the years, 36 men tried to escape; most were recaptured, shot, or drowned. But the 1962 escape was different. Morris and the Anglins, along with a fourth inmate, Alan West (who didn’t make it out of his cell), spent months executing a brilliant plan. They used makeshift tools to tunnel through their cell walls, created lifelike dummy heads to fool the guards during night counts, and stitched together over 50 rubber raincoats to create a makeshift raft and life vests.

On the night of June 11, 1962, the trio slipped into a maintenance corridor, climbed to the roof, and launched their raft into the bay, vanishing. By morning, an extensive manhunt was launched. While pieces of their raft and a paddle were found on nearby Angel Island, the men were never seen again. The FBI officially concluded they drowned in the icy waters and closed the case in 1979.

However, the case took a shocking turn in 2013 when the San Francisco Police Department received a letter allegedly written by John Anglin. The letter claimed, “My name is John Anglin. I escaped from Alcatraz… yes we all made it”. The author stated that Frank Morris died in 2008 and his brother Clarence died in 2011. He claimed to be dying of cancer and offered to turn himself in for medical treatment. While handwriting analysis was inconclusive, the letter contained details that only someone involved would know, prompting the FBI to reopen the case in 2018.

This renewed interest was bolstered by experiments, such as one by Mythbusters, which proved that a raft made of the same materials could have plausibly made the journey to the mainland, contrary to the original belief that the bay was un-survivable.

The video claims the mystery has finally been “solved” by a recent breakthrough. A creative agency and AI specialists used modern facial recognition software to analyze a grainy photograph taken in Brazil in 1975. This photo had long been rumored to show the Anglin brothers living on a farm. The AI analysis confirmed with “high probability” that the two men in the photograph are, in fact, John and Clarence Anglin. This suggests the men successfully escaped, reached South America, and lived out their lives in freedom.