Convicted murdered Danelo Cavalcante was captured 13 days after escaping from a Pennsylvania jail, ending a manhunt that had captivated the nation. But while his escape was caught on video, Cavalcante is just one of many prisoners over the years who have broken free from custody. Here are some of the most notorious prison breaks in history:
Escape from Alcatraz
When most people think of a prison break, the infamous 1962 escape from Alcatraz Island is likely the first that comes to mind.
Three inmates, Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin and John Anglin, "chiseled through walls with spoons and other kitchen utensils" over the course of 18 months, the Los Angeles Times reported. They then "wriggled through a chiseled shaft into a utility corridor and then onto the prison roof," escaping in a makeshift raft into the waters of the San Francisco Bay. The three men's evasion has taken on a mythical status, largely because Alcatraz was considered "the world’s most secure prison" at the time, the FBI noted. The men were never found, and most experts believe they drowned while trying to cross the bay. The FBI reported that in the 17 years it worked on the case following the escape, "no credible evidence emerged to suggest the men were still alive."
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El Chapo
The former leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán was considered to have as much power as the Mexican president. That is why Mexican authorities rejoiced when Guzmán was arrested in 2014 and sent to a maximum security prison near Toluca.
The drug lord wouldn't be contained for long, though, breaking out of prison in 2015 by "escaping through a hole under his cell that led to an elaborate tunnel," PBS reported. Guards "found a 20-by-20-inch hole near the shower" in Guzmán's cell that he had fled through. This marked the second time the drug kingpin had escaped from prison, after bribing his way out of a prior incarceration in 2001. Guzmán was eventually captured less than a year later. He was extradited to the U.S. and is currently serving a life sentence at the ADX supermax facility in Florence, Colorado, generally considered the country's most secure prison.
Ted Bundy
Widely considered one of the most prolific serial killers in history, Ted Bundy's name remains commonplace in American culture decades after his death. His infamy is aided by the fact that Bundy, who confessed to murdering more than 30 women, escaped custody twice in less than a year.
In June 1977, Bundy, who had already killed numerous women by this point, "was charged with murder but escaped out the window of the courthouse library" in Aspen, Colorado, according to a History biography. He was caught eight days later, "only to escape again on Dec. 30, 1977, while awaiting trial." Following his second escape, he traveled to Florida, where he assaulted at least six more women, killing one of them. After a long manhunt, Bundy was finally arrested again two months after his second escape. He was eventually sentenced to death and executed by electric chair in 1989.
Assata Shakur
Assata Shakur's story is unique in that she has been a fugitive from the law since her escape from prison — even though officials know where she is.
A member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA) in the 1970s, Shakur "was convicted on one murder charge and six assault charges and sentenced to life in prison" in 1977 after a shootout with police, per The Guardian. Two years later, Shakur escaped from a maximum security facility in New Jersey with the help of the BLA. She eventually fled to Cuba. She has lived on the island since 1984 when she was granted asylum, despite American attempts to extradite her. In 2013, Shakur was named as one of the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists, and officials are still "offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the apprehension."
Omid Tahvilli
Another wanted fugitive, Omid Tahvilli has perhaps the most improbable prison breakout story of them all.
An Iranian-Canadian gangster, Tahvilli was behind bars in 2007 when he simply "walked out of a maximum-security prison in Canada’s British Columbia wearing a janitor’s uniform," Reader's Digest reported. He was able to accomplish this by bribing a guard to "look the other way." A massive manhunt ensued, and though the guard who took the bribe was prosecuted, "Tahvilli remains an international fugitive." He is "considered to be extremely dangerous," Insider reported, especially given his mob connections to Iran and other countries.
