Guide Note

When she was 18 months old, on October 14, 1987, Jessica Morales (née McClure) fell into a well in Midland, Texas and was trapped 22 feet below ground for almost three days. Over 400 rescuers and volunteers worked for 58 hours to free her from an eight inch wide hole in an effort that attracted national media attention. When she turns 25, Morales will recieve over $1 million from a trust fund that was set up by well-wishers shortly after she was rescued.

Fast Facts

1. Born: March 26, 1986
2. Morales has no recollection of the incident
3. Married Daniel Morales on January 28, 2006 and had a son, Simon later that year
4. Photograph of the rescue won Scott Shaw the 1988 spot news photography Pulitzer Prize
5. ABC TV movie of the incident, Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure, released in 1989

1. "My scars remind me that I'm a survivor and that God loves me."
2. "I don't have any memory of it at all. Everybody asks me that question. I answer 'I don't know.' I saw footage of me on Rescue 911 and it broke my heart to think that happened to a little girl and someone told me, 'honey, that's you'... It made me cry."