meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Zone 7 with Sheryl McCollum

The Last Escape: The 1962 Alcatraz Escape with Ken Widner

Zone 7 with Sheryl McCollum

iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

True Crime

4.4696 Ratings

🗓️ 4 October 2023

⏱️ 51 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On the night of June 11, 1962, three Alcatraz inmates, Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin, set out in a raft into the treacherous waters of San Francisco Bay. They were never seen again.

In this episode of Zone 7, Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum, talks with Ken Widner, the nephew of the infamous Anglin brothers involved in the daring escape. Ken dissects the official narrative, showcasing photographs, FBI omissions, and family tales that make the Anglins' survival a compelling probability. Together, they take a deep dive into the evidence, from facial recognition to Google Maps, that could forever change the story of the Alcatraz escapees.

Show Notes:

  • [0:00] Welcome back to Zone 7 with Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum.  
  • [3:30] Sheryl introduces guest Ken Widner to the listeners 
  • [5:10] Question: Tell everybody about the escape in 1962 from Alcatraz. What were you and your momma doing?
  • [13:00] Using facial recognition to analyze photographs 
  • [13:33] Alcatraz Search for the Truth 
  • [15:30] Question: Let's talk about family loyalty, and just how far you would go.  Tell us about the raft and going across to Angel Island. 
  • [18:00] Sheryl and Ken discuss crossing the rough waters and what police ignored the day of escape
  • [25:50] Ken questions the suspicious lack of documentation regarding a key individual, poking holes in the official narrative
  • [26:10] Question: Can you paint the picture for the listeners about Brazil?
  • [33:42] ​​”You find a wheat penny up there. The date makes sense. The location does not make sense unless they were there.” 
  • [38:25] Question: Can you talk a little bit about your letter writing back and forth with Whitey Bulger? 
  • [48:57] Alcatraz, The Last Escape 
  • [50:35] “When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching. They're your family.” -J.B
  • Thanks for listening to another episode! If you’re loving the show and want to help grow the show, please head over to Itunes and leave a rating and review! How to Leave an Apple Podcast Review: First, Open the podcast app on your iPhone, Mac, or iPad. Then, hit the “Search” tab at the bottom right-hand corner of the page and search for Zone 7. Select the podcast, scroll down to find the subheading “Ratings & Reviews”. and select “Write a Review.” Next, select the number of stars you’d like to leave. Please choose 5 stars! Using the text box which says “Title,” write a title for your review. Then in the text box, write the review itself. The review can be up to 300 words long, but doesn’t need to be much more than: “Love the show! Thanks!” or Once you’re done select “Send” in the upper right-hand corner.

 

---

Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnLine, Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook., Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students and the criminal justice community together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.  

You can connect and learn more about Sheryl’s work by visiting the CCIRI website https://coldcasecrimes.org

Social Links:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

I have four sisters. I'm the youngest. I have no knowledge of living without backup,

0:18.0

support, love, health, cheers, advice, and loyalty.

0:23.6

In my life, the four of them have never once hesitated, wavered, or were even late to show up

0:32.6

for me. Not ever. Two of them are retired teachers now, so devoted to the lives of children that one of them even foster two of her students to make sure they had every advantage to get to college.

0:49.3

One of them still teach a Sunday school to this day. Two of them are nurses, not just nurses. One

0:56.5

has a PhD and one is a level one trauma nurse. The worst cases possible are the one she sees.

1:05.0

They literally help save lives of people they don't know. So when I tell you, they are some of the best people I've ever known in my life,

1:16.3

I have proof.

1:18.9

So if anyone ever slights them in the smallest way, says something negative,

1:26.4

makes a joke at their expense.

1:28.3

I'm done with that person.

1:30.3

Forever.

1:32.3

Now my children, Hunt and Caroline, will sometimes joke with me and tell me that they find it hard to believe that I can sound just as angry now telling a story about something that

1:45.6

happened to one of my sisters 50 years ago. Huck even said to me, Mom, you can hold a grudge

1:52.0

harder than anybody we've ever seen. I was taken aback by that comment because I see it so

1:59.0

differently. A grudge to me almost sounds negative, whereas loyalty

2:04.3

to me is a positive, and I am loyal, honey. So I said to him, look, I don't hold a grudge. I have no

2:12.3

ill will or resentment toward these people. I'm just not going to give them a second chance to harm one of my sisters.

2:19.6

Huck said, not the noun, Mama, the verb.

2:25.2

You won't give or grant or allow access to you or your friendship or an opportunity

2:30.5

to be your family once somebody hurts them.

2:34.5

And I laughed and I said, oh, yeah, that verb will get you.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.