Family of Alcatraz escapee John Anglin believe he IS still alive as they slam FBI for keeping letter secret for five years
THE family of a man who made a sensational escape from Alcatraz Prison in 1962 say their uncle IS still alive - and they know where he's hiding.
Ken and David Widner, the nephews of escapee bank robber John Anglin, have slammed "inhumane" authorities for keeping secret a 2013 letter purporting to be from their uncle.
Brothers John and Clarence Anglin, along with fellow inmate Frank Morris, tunnelled out of their cells and vanished into the cold, rough waters surrounding the now-defunct island penitentiary in 1962.
It has never been proved if they escaped or survived - but it emerged today that cops were sent a mysterious note in 2013 claiming to be from John.
Ken, his nephew, today told The Sun Online: "If he needed help he could have gone down to a hospital or a doctor and no-one would have even known who he was.
"I know that if that was John, he would have come to us - not gone to the FBI."
Sent to a San Francisco Police Department in 2013 and made public this week, it states: "My name is John Anglin. 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. 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 phantom author claims Frank "passed away" in 2008 and his brother Clarence died three years later.
Ken said that that he discovered the existence of the note only yesterday when it was published locally.
He said: "If it had been him, if it had been true, they kept that letter for five years, they basically let him die.
"I believe John is still alive, I do not believe Clarence is still alive, I have no idea clue about Frank Morris.
"I know Frank Morris was with them in 1975. I have a pretty good idea of where they're at... (but) that I'm not going to say."
His brother David said: "It's kind of inhumane that they didn't let the family know they received this letter in 2013.
"I feel like he probably would have reached out to the family. I don't think John would have agreed to serve a year to get medical attention. If anything, he would've asked for a pardon."
He added it was "very possible" John was still alive, noting the escapees were "very, very smart guys" at surviving.
The FBI lab analysed the letter for DNA and fingerprints but their results were inconclusive, according to local reports.
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, 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.
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