How did this happen? It started when a young girl named Jessica McClure was at her aunt's house, and was playing outside with four other children, with her mother, Cissy, watching them. Mrs. McClure then got a phone call and went inside to answer, momentarily leaving the children unattended. Seconds later, she heard the kids screaming. She went outside to see what was happening, and found that her daughter had unknowingly fallen into an 18-inch diameter well.
Who was involved? The people involved were Cissy McClure and Chip McClure (the parents,) Jamie Moore (Jessica's aunt,) David Lilly (the person in charge of the rescue,) and B.J. Hall (the first police officer on the scene.) They later received a visit from Vice President George H. W. Bush, and a phone call from President Ronald Reagan. There were also numerous amounts of volunteers, mining experts, and rescue crews that were involved.
Details of the rescue The first thing that was set up was oxygen equipment to provide her with air and keep her from suffocating, then the officers started talking to her. Detective Andy Glasscock says he'll never forget her singing Whinnie the Pooh to him. The plan to rescue her was to use a rathole drill to dig a hole that would end up two feet under where baby Jessica was, to prevent the well collapsing and killing her. The hole would be 18 inches deep and 23 inches across. Baby Jessica was stuck there for fifty eight hours, but was finally rescued. When she was rescued, she had to be rushed to the hospital immediately, and was left with a large scar on her forehead and lost a toe to gangrene, but is still alive