In 1987, 18-month-old Jessica McClure was
rescued from an abandoned well in Midland. It
was a drama that drew world-wide attention.
Today, she is a normal 17-year-old making good
grades and participating in school activities.
The 11th grader is said to have no memory at
all of the 58 hour ordeal. Not only does Jessica
have no memory of the event that made her
famous, she's also bored by talk of the
incident, which claimed her right little toe and
left some minor scars. 15 years later, you'll
also find she has regained her anonymity.
It was Friday, October 16, 1987 when
18-month-old Jessica McClure was lifted to
safety in the glare of television cameras from
all over the world. She had been trapped 22 feet
underground in a dry well in her aunt's Midland
backyard.
'He has her!' 'That's one tough cookie,' said
the news anchors who delivered the report live
as she was hoisted from underground. Rescuers
worked round the clock digging a hole parallel
to the well Jessica was trapped in. Oxygen and
heat were pumped into the well, and a TV
photographers microphone was dropped down the
well to listen to Jessica. At one point it
picked her voice up as she sang 'Winnie the
Pooh'.
Finally, 58-hours after she fell, baby
Jessica was hoisted out of the ground to great
cheers. The event was carried live on local and
national television. Midland news crews remember
the event as one that united the world. "The
world came to a halt. We got phone calls from
Australia and England. The outpouring of emotion
was phenomenal," says Don Woodward of KWES News
9.
Jessica is now a junior in high school in
Midland. Her divorced parents Chip McClure and
Cissy Porter have granted only one interview in
the last five years. They have not released a
picture of Jessica to the media in seven years.
The family says they want everyone to know she's
a healthy, active and loving girl.. But they
don't want people recognizing her everywhere she
goes. "I really respect them for this. I think
they've been very protective of her and are
trying to give her as normal a life as
possible," says Kathy Swindler of KWES.
Today, the well is still there, in the
backyard of another Midland family. But it is
safe now, capped and sealed in loving memory of
Jessica, who's story is said to have had the
happiest ending of any major news event in
American history since we landed on the
moon.
After the 58 hour ordeal, gifts and cash
poured in from strangers who had watched
coverage of the rescue. The money was placed in
a trust fund in Jessica's name. Today, that
trust fund holds more than $1 million, waiting
for Jessica to turn 25.