Jessica Morales
| Jessica McClure | |
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McClure in 1989
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| Born |
Jessica McClure March 26, 1986 Midland, Texas, U.S. |
| Other names | Jessica McClure Morales |
| Known for | Falling into a well at 18 months old |
| Spouse(s) | Daniel Morales (m. 2006) |
| Children | 2 |
Jessica McClure Morales (born March 26, 1986) became famous on October 14, 1987, at the age of 18 months after she fell into a well in her aunt's backyard in Midland, Texas. Between that day and October 16, rescuers worked around-the-clock for 58 consecutive hours to free her from the eight-inch (20 cm) well casing 22 feet (6.7 m) below the ground. The story gained worldwide attention (leading to some criticism as a media circus), and later became the subject of a 1989 ABC television movie Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure. As presented in the film, the relatively new technology of waterjet cutting was a vital part of the rescue.
McClure's rescue proved to be a much more difficult ordeal than was first anticipated. Within hours of beginning the emergency procedure, the Midland Fire and Police Departments devised a plan that involved drilling another shaft parallel to the well and then drilling a tunnel at a right angle across to it. Enlisting the help of a variety of local (often out-of-work) oil-drillers, the Midland officials had hoped to free McClure in minutes. However, the first workers to arrive on the scene found their tools barely adequate to penetrate the hard rock around the well. It took about six hours to drill the shaft and longer to drill the tunnel, because the jackhammers used were designed for drilling downward, rather than sideways. A mining engineer was eventually brought in to help supervise and coordinate the rescue effort. Forty-five hours after McClure fell into the well, the shaft and tunnel were finally completed.
Ron Short, a muscular roofing contractor who was born without collar bones because of cleidocranial dysostosis and so could collapse his shoulders to work in cramped corners, arrived at the site and offered to go down the shaft. They considered his offer, but did not use it. One report said that he helped to clear tunneling debris away.
Midland Fire Department paramedic Robert O'Donnell was ultimately able to inch his way into the tunnel and wrestle McClure free from the confines of the well, handing her to fellow paramedic Steve Forbes, who carried her up to safety.
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Wikipedia