‘Baby Jessica,’ Who Was Rescued from a Well In 1987, Arrested at 40 After Domestic Disturbance

Jessica McClure Morales — once known as “Baby Jessica” after being trapped in and subsequently rescued from a well in 1987 — was arrested on Saturday and charged with assault causing bodily injury following a reported domestic disturbance at her home in Texas.

Morales was taken into custody after deputies with the Midland County Sheriff’s Office in Texas responded to a residence just before 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, according to arrest records obtained by KXAN.

The Texas woman, who is now 40 years old, was reportedly later released from the Midland County Detention Center after posting bond.

While authorities released limited details surrounding the domestic disturbance, a request for the arrest affidavit — which could take up to ten days to process — is expected to provide more information about what led to the charge.

Notably, Morales received international attention in 1987 — when she was just 18 months old — after falling into a well at her aunt’s home in Midland.

Baby Jessica, trapped about 22 feet underground, became the focus of a 58-hour rescue effort that captivated the nation and gained global media coverage as she remained stuck in a narrow well while emergency crews worked around the clock to get to her.

Rescuers ended up drilling a parallel shaft and a horizontal tunnel through rock in order to access the well, which involved specialized techniques after traditional equipment failed at being effective in the rocky terrain, KXAN noted.

At one point, emergency crews were reported to have heard the child singing — a moment that emphasized both tension and hope surrounding the difficult and painstaking rescue effort.

Eventually, paramedic Robert O’Donnell was able to navigate through the tunnel and reach Morales, who was then brought to safety and rushed to a local hospital.

People around the nation and world celebrated, with Midland residents reportedly recalling cheers echoing through the city as news of Jessica’s rescue spread.

“Everybody in America became godmothers and godfathers of Jessica while this was going on,” then-President Ronald Reagan said at the time.

Morales — who has said in past interviews that she does not remember the incident — underwent multiple surgeries due to injuries she sustained while trapped in the well.

A dramatic recreation of the incident was also depicted in the popular 1989 TV movie, Everybody’s Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure.