[Maru]

This week in 1987, Baby Jessica fell down a well in Midland

By Craig Hlavaty

A nation of mothers would forever watch their kids a bit close
Updated 4:24 pm, Friday, October 14, 2016

On this date in 1987, Baby Jessica McClure fell down a well in the backyard of her family’s Midland home.

The story of the 18-month-old girl, scared and cold at the bottom of a well, captivated the world. Her safe retrieval was even broadcast live on CNN.

The 58-hour drama began when McClure slid some 22 feet down the abandoned well, which was just eight feet wide. Her mother, Reba, had taken her to visit an aunt and briefly left her in the backyard. Within moments McClure was missing down the hole.

She was finally retrieved on the night of Oct. 16 to the cheers of millions, after a team of rescuers dug a parallel shaft and then broke through the wall of the well.

Money was donated to her family – her parents were poor teenagers -- and a trust fund was created

McClure became a media sensation after the incident as her recovery from the ordeal. She did end up losing a toe on her right foot and came away sporting a scar on her forehead, which she still wears with pride.

She even meet Vice President George Bush and his wife, Barbara, who were former Midland residents, when they visited her in the hospital. President Ronald Reagan called her too.

The woman, now a 30-year-old mother of two, has no memory of being a national figure, but since the incident she’s made just a handful appearances in the media to recall the aftermath of her well ordeal.

She's also gained access to that hefty trust fund.

Source: Wikipedia:

Media impact

CNN, then a fledgling cable news outlet, was on the scene with around-the-clock coverage of the rescue effort. This massive media saturation of the ordeal prompted then-President Ronald Reagan to state that "everybody in America became godmothers and godfathers of Jessica while this was going on."

Source: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-te...ng-9971612.php

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Oh, so maybe this why those Lifetime television "Hero mom" action movies and live TV speed chases/shootings/rescues, etc are so popular in the US?