It isn't every day that a story from Midland, Texas gets international attention.  Yet that was exactly what happened in 1987 when an 18-month-old female fell down a well gaining a massive amount of media attention and sympathy from all over the world.

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The Rescue

Jessica McClure who was dubbed by the media as "Baby Jessica" fell into a well as she was playing in her aunt's backyard in Midland, Texas, on October 14, 1987.  This sparked a relentless and grueling 56-hour rescue attempt.

Initially, fire and rescue believed that traditional heavy equipment such as jackhammers could essentially pry Jessica from the encasing she was lodged in.  However, that was proven ineffective due to the surrounding area being mostly rock.  It was then decided that a parallel shaft would be dug as a more practical way of freeing her.  But without jackhammers, they were forced to try other methods that could possibly work.  That was when it was decided to use waterjet cutting- a technology that was relatively new during the time of the rescue.  The ploy worked and 45 hours after Baby Jessica had fallen into the well, the adjacent shaft had been successfully dug.  It took another 11 hours for rescue to fit down the shaft to position themselves to finally free her.  She was cold, scared, and slightly dehydrated, but she was alive and well!

After The Rescue

The media coverage leading up to the rescue was unprecedented.  All major media outlets from all corners of the world covered the incident and the actual rescue was even broadcasted live on CBS with Dan Rather.  After she was pulled from the well, Jessica was immediately taken to the hospital where she made a full recovery.

In the following weeks and months, Jessica and her family made the rounds and were featured on numerous talk shows and media segments all excited to hear the family's story. Two years later, a made-for-tv movie was made about the situation entitled Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure starring Beau Bridges.

Jessica Today

Since the last time the world has heard from Jessica, she has gotten married and has two children of her own.  She still lives in Midland, TX and is a special needs school teacher.

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