Some of our readers may remember the extraordinary story of Jessica McClure Morales. In 1987, at just 18 months old, she vanished while playing with four other children in her aunt’s backyard in Midland, Texas.
Frantic family members soon discovered that she had fallen 22 feet down a well they believed was covered.
Her mother, Cissy, told PEOPLE: “I didn’t know what to do. I just ran in and called the police. They were there within three minutes, but it felt like a lifetime.”
Little Jessica was trapped, and her terrifying ordeal quickly drew the attention of news stations across the US. A massive, round-the-clock rescue operation began, with emergency responders, drilling specialists, and volunteers working tirelessly to reach her over two days.
Jessica was stuck without food or water. The first officer to arrive at the scene was Bobbie Jo Hall, who recalled seeing nothing when he first looked into the hole.
“I called the baby’s name three or four times and didn’t hear anything. Finally, I got a cry in response,” he told PEOPLE.
“We didn’t know how deep she was until we lowered a tape hooked to a flashlight into the hole.”
Detective Andy Glasscock said: “I would say 80 percent of the time she was either crying or making some kind of noise we could hear.
“When we weren’t calling words of encouragement, we’d tell her to sing for us.
“I’ll never forget her singing ‘Winnie-the-Pooh.’” After nearly 60 hours of painstaking work, a breakthrough was made, and rescuers were able to pull the toddler to safety. The final stages of the operation were broadcast to millions across the US—the astonishing rescue of “Baby Jessica” captured the attention of an entire nation.
Thirty-eight years have passed since that incredible event, but those two and a half days have shaped much of Jessica’s life.
“In a way, I guess it happened the way it was supposed to,” she told PEOPLE in 2017.
“I was picked on because of it, but most people are kind and think what happened is an amazing miracle. It is. I don’t believe any of it would’ve happened without God.”
Nearly four decades later, Jessica now has children and grandchildren of her own. In 2019, she revealed that the “Baby Jessica” nickname still follows her today.
“I have people that’s how they associate me,” she told PEOPLE.
“I actually told a lady the other day at work that I was the little girl who fell in the well, and she was like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re Baby Jessica!’” she said.
According to PEOPLE, Jessica still lives in rural Texas with her husband, Danny, whom she married in 2006.
Coincidentally, Danny remembers watching the news the day his future wife was rescued from the well on October 16, 1987. He was 13 at the time and heard about the successful rescue while at a football game.
“They stopped the whole game to say, ‘Baby Jessica has been rescued,’” Danny said. “It was pretty cool.”
The couple reportedly have two children, Simon and Sheyenne, who have since given them grandchildren, Emiliano and Nolan.
Jessica revealed that when her daughter Sheyenne was in elementary school, her teacher showed the class a video about the incident after learning that Sheyenne’s mother was Baby Jessica.
“Her teacher knew all about it,” Jessica told PEOPLE, “but the other kids didn’t know what she was talking about.”
Following the traumatic incident in 1987, a trust fund totaling $1.2 million was created by generous people around the world. One of the donors was Danny’s mother.
Jessica shared that a large portion of the fund was lost during the 2008 stock market crash, but enough remained to help finance the purchase of a home.
According to Jessica’s Facebook page, she currently works at Richards Horticulture in Midland, Texas, as a special education assistant at an elementary school.
More recently, in 2024, Jessica told PEOPLE that she does not remember the rescue itself.
“I learned about it when I was 4 and watched it on Rescue 911 at my then-stepmother’s house,” she recalled. “It was overwhelming. I remember crying. She said, ‘You do realize that is about you?’ My dad said, ‘We were waiting until she was a little bit older to tell her.’”
In total, Jessica required 15 surgeries due to the injuries she suffered from the fall. Her right foot needed surgical reconstruction after she developed gangrene, and she also has a barely visible scar on her head.
What an incredible story of a young girl’s resilience and the power of people coming together. We wish Jessica all the best moving forward!
