Ralph Roe’s conduct report at Alcatraz.

Alcatraz

The two inmates maintained a close friendship at Alcatraz, both taking paying jobs and working side-by-side in the Mat Shop. The Mat Shop was a facility where prison workers transformed used car tires into rubber mats for the Navy, and it was located on the bottom floor of the Model Shop Building at the northernmost tip of the island. The area was recognizable by the piles of discarded tires that were pitched down from the industry building, littering the waterline.

Roe and Cole had spent several weeks in preparation for their escape, studying the habits of the correctional staff, and working to identify potential loopholes in the security system. Using a stolen hacksaw blade, they were able to saw their way through the steel sash window grill, packing the saw gaps with grease and shoe polish to avoid detection. On the morning of Thursday, December 16, 1937, dense fog forced the docking of almost all the small vessels in the area. The forceful currents leading out past the Golden Gate Bridge and toward the Pacific Ocean were fluctuating between seven to nine knots, creating what were considered death-trap conditions for anyone willing to try their fate in the perilous waters. The two inmates were likely not aware of how dangerous the currents and foggy conditions could prove to be. It was speculated that they might have seen the spell of bad weather as an opportunity to escape under cover of dense fog.

At about 12:50 p.m., the inmates returned to the Industries Building from the mess hall after lunch, and underwent a count by Junior Officer Joe Steere, who found all inmates present and accounted for. Steere was alternating his patrol between the Blacksmith and Mat Shops, and he left the Mat area unattended while performing his routine watch. Steere returned to the Mat Shop for the 1:30 p.m. count, but inmates Cole and Roe were not at their assigned work detail. He hurriedly searched the shop and immediately noticed the punched-out panes of glass and bent-out steel grilling. Officer Steere ran to the phone and sounded the escape sirens, in what was known among the custodial staff as a “22-Alarm.”

The pathway to the waterline, showing where Roe and Cole entered the freezing Bay waters.

San Francisco Police Chief William Quinn is seen here handing out photos of Roe and Cole to street officers.

A tide chart showing the forecast ebb tide conditions for December 16, 1937.

It is speculated that Roe and Cole bent out the sawed bars using a heavy wrench, punched out two panes of glass, and climbed through the window, dropping down to the ground below. They swiftly ran to a locked gate that led down to the waterline. It is also believed that in preparation for the escape, the two inmates had constructed floats from lightweight metal five-gallon fuel canisters with specially made handles, and they carried these makeshift floats with them. Using the wrench, the inmates quickly unfastened the bolts of a chain-link gate, and then laid the gate over the five rows of sharp barbwire, thus making a protected pathway down to the water’s edge.

In his book On the Rock, former Public Enemy Number One Alvin Karpis stated that the winter of 1937 started off with severe rains and flooding along the Sacramento River. Large pieces of debris floated down the River toward the Pacific Ocean, and the fragmented wreckage ranged from large sections of barns to dead livestock carcasses. The currents were so fierce that the debris could often clearly be seen floating swiftly past the island from the Industries Building windows. Another inmate, “Blackie” Audett, wrote in his 1954 memoir Rap Sheetthat he was able to watch the two inmates as they made their entry into the bay and began their swim. He noted that he saw Roe come up out of the water several yards off the island, appearing to be struggling desperately, and attempting to stay afloat in the rough waters. Audett recalled that Roe came up and then drifted into the dense fog, never to be seen again.

Despite the dangerous fog, Warden Johnston dispatched the launch, which started a circular search pattern around the island, but found no signs of any debris from the inmates’ improvised floats. The officers in the towers searched with binoculars, but were hardly able to see much of the surrounding waters because of the thick fog. Associate Warden E.J. Miller described his actions following the escape in a December 18 ^th, 1937 memo to Warden Johnston. He wrote in part:

We searched the area in the back of the Model Building and found where the lock on the gate where we throw the old tires through had been broke with a Stillson Wrench and the wrench was laying beside the gate also. Made a complete search of the area without finding any additional clues or signs of the men, no footprints, no clothing. The caves were searched with lights and the big cave was flooded with tear gas and in the evening with sickening gas and had men stationed to see if there was any movement or anyone came out, without result. We combed the Island thoroughly, entered all residences, inspected every nook and cranny, all along the shoreline, in the rocks, the emergency dock, the regular dock, beneath the docks, the sewers, all shrubbery, covering every inch of the island.

For several weeks after the escape there were reports that people had seen the escapees, and with the FBI leading the investigation, every lead was followed up – but with no success in locating the two men. It was believed that both men had unquestionably met their death on that foggy afternoon, but the FBI kept the investigation open, and continued their vigorous search.

Champion open-water swimmer Lisa Johnson later stated that she felt it was impossible for the men to have survived the swim during such a strong ebb tide, even using float devices. She stated that the fog alone would have caused serious disorientation because no fixed landmark references could be seen and that they would not have been able to swim on any direct route toward land. She further stated: “They were probably unable to swim back to Alcatraz once they realized that they were in grave danger. Even with my experience and conditioning, I would never have put one toe in that turbulent water.”  Roe also had a debilitating factor that could have contributed to his supposed demise. It is documented in a Leavenworth report that he had a slight deformity of his right tibia, due to a serious fracture that he had sustained from a gunshot wound during his last escape attempt. It was noted that the cold weather sometimes caused “aching pains” in his leg, but this was not further substantiated, and no medical records show any complaints of leg pain while at Alcatraz.

For nearly twelve weeks following the escape, Johnston continued a policy that every corpse found floating in the bay would be investigated by the Alcatraz launch McDowell, to help identify the body in case it proved to be one of the escapees. It was later officially concluded that the two inmates had drowned in the bay. Johnston wrote in his 1949 memoir: