<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (February 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (February 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> In its 29 years of operation, there were 14 acknowledged attempts to escape from Alcatraz prison involving 36 inmates (two, Joseph Cretzer and Sam Shockley, tried twice). Officially, every escape attempt failed, and most participants were either killed or quickly re-captured . However, the participants in the December 1937 and June 1962 attempts, though presumed dead, disappeared without a trace, giving rise to popular theories that they were successful . </P>

Why was it so difficult to escape from alcatraz