In 1987, there was a news event that brought the entire world together. People did not stop watching their TVs for days - the First Lady of the United States even postponed surgery until she knew the outcome. Eighteen-month-old Jessica McClure had fallen down an old well and was wedged almost ten metres underground for 60 hours. Every news channel that existed had cameras in that tiny backyard in Texas, while the world watched - live - and waited in suspense to see if she’d come out alive.

CW: This episode contains a brief mention of suicide. If you need, please contact (Australia):

Lifeline (24 hours: 13 11 14)

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‘Baby Jessica on the 30-year anniversary of her rescue from a well: Her life as a wife and mom’ (People Magazine 2017): https://people.com/human-interest/baby-jessica-on-the-30-year-anniversary-of-her-rescue-from-a-well-her-life-as-a-wife-and-mom/

‘Baby Jessica’s Rescue From a Well Capped Off a Terrifying Week in US History’ (Time Magazine 2017): https://time.com/4980689/baby-jessica-30th-anniversary/?amp=true

1987 archive footage of Jessica McClure being rescued (Film Archives NYC 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afSChsWNcbQ

‘Baby Jessica rescued from a well as the world watches’ (History 2011, updated 2025): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/October-16/baby-jessica-rescued-from-a-well-as-the-world-watches

‘Helping to pull little Jessica McClure from a Texas well made firefighter Robert O’Donnell a star. But the limelight soon turned to darkness.’ (Los Angeles Times 1995): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-05-24-mn-5474-story.html

‘Death on the CNN Curve’ (The New York Times Magazine 1995): https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/23/magazine/death-on-the-cnn-curve.html

Baby Jessica (Jessica McClure) wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescue_of_Jessica_McClure

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