7 Of The Most Daring Prison Escapes In History
There's something undeniably fascinating about prison escapes.
Even if the escapee is a criminal that society should probably lock back up, it's hard not to root a little for the lone wolf, against the world, making a dash for the blue sky. Put a man in a box, and he will try to escape—hey, it's human nature. (Some countries, such as Mexico, seem to understand that impulse and don't punish prisoners with extra years on their sentences for trying to escape. Mexico, the progressives.)
Fueled by what can only be described as an allergy to confinement, here are seven of the most daring prison escapes you might not know in history.
This double-murderer is a textbook unsavory character. Some quick backstory: surrendering his gun when questioned by the police, he likely vowed never to do that again. While at another police station, he greased his cuffs with lip balm and busted out for a few hours. They snatched him back after he tried to jump from a third story roof to a tree branch. The branch broke, depositing him on the ground and back into the law.
Fast-forward a few years, McNair is unhappily living in a North Dakotan state pen. Somehow, he actually tries to do the classic movie escape and heads into the ventilation system. His cellmate didn't make it out, but McNair did. He proceeded to dye his hair, and stole cars for a few months until the law caught back up to him.
You won't believe it, but he escaped again, shipping himself out of the prison in a shrink-wrapped palate. He broke out of the palate after it was delivered and pretended to go jogging. A cop stopped him, and with the utmost calm managed to convince the officer he just a dude on a run. He crossed into Canada from Washington, stole a car and then outran the police on foot when they saw the car.
Later McNair rode a bike to a different town and traveled back into the U.S.—upon doing so, the cops figured out who he was from his prints and selfies he had taken to get a fake ID. While on the lam, he said he frequently would watch himself on America's Most Wanted, and said the show was "a thorn." He's since been locked back up and remains in custody.
Known as Greece's Robin Hood due to his charitable contributions to the poor using other people's money, Vassilis Palaiokostas kidnapped a few tycoons and bought his ticket to the clink. Fortunately for him, he had a ticket out. Two of his friends hijacked a helicopter on a "sightseeing" trip and landed the bird inside the gates. Assuming it was simply inspectors, the guards allowed it to land, and he jumped in and took off. They landed in a nearby cemetery and took to a less-conspicuous vehicle.
After being recaptured a few years later, Vassilis tried it again, and succeeded, thanks to his female accomplice who hijacked the helicopter for him. Unlike the last attempt, this one involved a rope ladder, so it was slightly more badass. Palaiokostas was recaptured again, and he is currently serving his 14th year of a 25-year sentence.
After climbing to the roof of his French prison using a fake gun and nectarines painted like grenades. Vaujour's lovely wife Nadine came to pick him up in a helicopter. Like any devoted spouse would, she had taken helicopter lessons and picked him up on what was apparently his fourth escape attempt. They later tried the helicopter thing again, but someone called the prison and they made sure they weren't fooled again. Vaujour and his wife are still in jail, though sadly, not together.
Deep into his armed-robbery prison sentence in Florida, Sigler had a few friends drop by the prison, crashing through the gates in a semi-trailer. After ramming through four fences, the truck stopped and a car emerged behind it—with Sigler's mother at the wheel. Apparently, someone tossed him a shotgun and they took off.
They got 40 miles, but got into a car crash, killed an innocent civilian, and were thrown back into prison. So was his mom. Sigler will probably never see the light of day again; he does not have a second mom.
Alright so technically this doesn't count as an escape, but the story is not any less cool. Originally built to stave away boredom by British POWs in a German prison camp, the Brits realized their glider could be the perfect escape pod since it was on the roof and the Germans were on the lookout for tunnels, not gliders. The idea was to fly it across the river Mulde, adjacent to the prison.
Using makeshift saws to cut beds and other wooden materials into a frame and sleeping bags, they were able to create a 240-pound two-seat glider. Just as the take-off day was approaching, they heard the Allies approaching and decided to only fly if the SS came to finish them off. They never did, since they were liberated shortly after.
A few years ago a replica of it got flying. It's on YouTube.
After a large jewel robbery, Alfie was locked up—temporarily. Though no one knows exactly how, he managed to sneak through a locked door and scale a 20-foot roof, some say by actually memorizing the key. About nine months later, Scotland Yard found him and put him back behind bars.
Ever the clever lad, he sued for "illegal arrest," and used the opportunity to escape again. While at court, he went to the bathroom escorted by guards, pushed them into a stall and locked them in a with a padlock someone had passed him. He was later captured at the airport.
He escaped again from prison, this time latching onto someone's plan and balancing two wheelbarrows on top of each other to get over the 24 foot fence. He stayed at large and sold used cars, but was taken back to jail. Eventually he was pardoned. He became a member of Mensa and lived as the secretary of their Channel Islands branch.
It stands to reason that one of the guys behind the Great Train Robbery should have been involved in one of the most well-orchestrated escapes in history. Figuring that he'd be unwilling to stay in prison until 70, a his French friend assembled a team of six people. Ocean's 11-style.
He had two enormous guys, one radio operator, a pilot, a getaway driver, and the best locksmith in the country. After training in a monastery, they sent a message to Wilson in prison telling him to get ready. Grabbing a ladder and lugging the equipment to the prison wall, they set up shop and quietly sent the locksmith over. The locksmith dropped in, followed by the radio operator, then everyone else. With everyone inside the walls, the locksmith cut through the doors to Wilson while the muscle gagged and bound a guard while the operator listened for escape chatter. After snatching Wilson, they made it to an airfield and jumped in the plane.
He was later caught and served the rest of his sentence. When he emerged, it's likely he got caught up in some more criminal activities—including involvement as a launderer in the legendary Brinks-MAT job. It all ended when a hit-man came to his house in Spain and killed him and his dog.
Ethan Wolff-Mann is an editor at Supercompressor. He is the man who escaped from Alcatraz who they couldn't find.