KANSAS CITY, Mo. - On this day 54 years ago, an escapee from the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois, gave up his secrecy for a rather unusual reason in Kansas City, Missouri.

Then 34-year-old Warren George Briggs had quite the journey throughout the 360 mile trip.

On July 21, 1971, Briggs managed to be the first prisoner to escape the penitentiary by hopping over two 15-foot barbed wire fences, running "unscathed through a hail of bullets into the woods," according to the Marion, Illinois, History Preservation.

It was said that he was able to escape with the help of other inmates who also attempted to escape, likely intending to place the attention on them while Briggs got out.

Over the course of the next two days, Briggs walked along Interstate 57 in southern Illinois befo

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