Joseph "Dutch" Bowers (December 13, 1896 – April 27, 1936) was the first man to attempt an escape from Alcatraz prison.

[1] On 27 April 1936, convict Henry Larry[citation needed] claims to have watched Bowers, who was feeding seagulls, stack some empty barrels and climb up next to the fence so he could retrieve a bit of food which had fallen on the barbed wire.

He stood there feeding the birds for several minutes until a tower guard turned, saw him atop the fence, and fired on the convict.

Imprisoned during the toughest and most strict era on Alcatraz, Bowers, serving a 25-year sentence for Postal Mail Robbery that netted a mere sixteen dollars and thirty eight cents.

He claimed that he was completely desperate and out of funds, hungry and mostly unable to afford food or proper lodging.