#10 — ‘One of the fake heads fashioned from soap, toothpaste, concrete dust, and toilet paper, used as a decoy during the 1962 escape of 3 prisoners from Alcatraz’

Originally submitted by Reddit user /u/pixeldustnz

This is by far the ‘youngest’ item highlighted in this blog post, and it’s the only artifact here that remains part of an active police investigation! The item depicted is indeed a handmade sculpture of a human head used as a decoy in the infamous Alcatraz prison escape of June 1962. as the title suggests. There were in fact multiple decoy heads created — one for each of the three prisoners involved in the escape, Frank Morris, and brothers John and Clarence Anglin, plus one for inmate Clayton West, whose escape attempt was unsuccessful.

Although the Alcatraz complex was designed to make escape as difficult as humanly possible, these prisoners took many months to plan and execute their escape, and were largely successful! The escapees did indeed leave the prison, and have not been recaptured. Opinion is split on whether the prisoners survived the cold plunge into the San Francisco Bay and the swim to shore, though because their bodies have not been found, the case remains officially open and active.

The head itself is made of stolen and salvaged materials found within the prison, including stolen paint, toothpaste, bed linen, soap, and human hair from the prison barber shop. In 2018 the FBI used 3D printing and other techniques to create replicas of the original heads, which themselves remain official police property due to the active investigation. The replica heads will form part of a public Alcatraz exhibit to help the public better understand this interesting piece of American history. U.S. marshal Don O’Keefe is quick to point out that the marshals still take this crime seriously, stating, “our efforts are meant not just to perform due diligence, but to be a warning to other fugitives, that U.S. Marshals don’t give up because of the passing of time”.

Even at the time of the escape, Alcatraz prison was itself decaying and crumbling, just like the fragile sculpture in this photo. The prison’s last inmates left in 1963, when the prison was closed for financial reasons, including the need for extensive, expensive infrastructure repairs. Today, the ex-prison island houses a public museum, offering a fascinating insight into a truly unusual prison environment and an iconic piece of American history.