Full Cooperation
Allen West came to his senses and decided to return to his cell and wait for morning when he knew that the escape would be discovered. The next morning, after the alarm was raised, every inch of the prison was searched thoroughly.
West felt that he had no choice but to cooperate with the authorities fully. He told them everything, or did he? We will never know if he told the whole truth. He claimed that his companions were on their way to Angel Island and planned to steal clothes and a car there and then go their separate ways.
No Car Found
But there was one problem with the confession, no cars were reported stolen in or around Angel Island in the twelve days following the escape. Which means either they planned to stop at a different location and West lied, or they landed somewhere else accidentally or Morris and the Anglin brothers never reached the shore.
During his confession, West bragged to the authorities that the whole plan had been his idea and that he orchestrated the great escape. That was when the authorities got the FBI involved. They opened an official investigation to determine if the three convicts survived the escape attempt.