Iconic Image 16

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This month's Iconic Image is...

The Rescue of Jessica McClure 

Intro

This photo was taken on October 16, 1987. It depicts a group of men holding a baby girl wrapped in bandages while strapped to a spine board. The looks on their faces are a mixture of relief and joy. This image would come to symbolize the dramatic conclusion of a rescue that for two whole days had captured the attention of the whole country. 

Part I

The incident all began on the morning of October 14 in Midland, Texas. An 18-month old toddler named, Jessica McClure was staying at her aunt's daycare center while her parents were at work. While playing in the backyard, Jessica fell through the opening of an 8-inch-wide unused water well pipe. Her aunt heard Jessica crying from the well pipe but could not reach her. She then quickly called 9-1-1. Fireman and police officers arrived on the scene within minutes. They quickly deduced that Jessica had fallen approximately twenty-two feet down the well pipe and could not be pulled free from the surface. The only way to save her was to drill a hole into the ground parallel to the well pipe, somehow cut into the pipe, and pull Jessica free.

The rescuers found that the pipe was surrounded by dense rock that was too thick for jack hammers to drill through. They were forced to use a new digging tool called a, water jet cutter. The water jet cutter uses an extremely high-pressure jet of water (or other abrasive substance) to cut through very hard surfaces at great speed. It is typically used for mining.

The rescuers were able to successfully drill a hole that was three feet in diameter and thirty feet down. They then began to slowly dig a tunnel towards the well pipe. Once the tunnel was completed, they used pneumatic drills to cut into the pipe. Upon peering in they spotted one of Jessica's legs. They then inflated two industrial-type balloons beneath Jessica to prevent her from falling further into the pipe after being pulled free. Once that was done, paramedic Robert O'Donnell attempted to pull Jessica free but was unable to do so. He realized that the girl was stuck in a split with one of her legs pressed against her body. They were forced to dig a bit further to widen the well-pipe. After another hour of digging into the earth, Robert O'Donnell was finally able to inch his way through the tunnel and wrench Jessica free.

Part II

Jessica was then placed on a spine board and hoisted up through the hole. Her head was bandaged and she was carried to an ambulance. As soon as she was visible, the whole crowd erupted in applause. Multiple news anchors (who were reporting live) caught the moment that Baby Jessica finally emerged from the hole. She had been trapped in the well pipe for more 58 hours.

Among the rescuers were hundreds of reporters and photographers. One of them was Scott Shaw of the Odessa American newspaper from Ector County. Like so many others, he kept his camera at the ready for the moment Jessica was rescued. As soon as he noticed Jessica being carried up by a rescuer, he snapped a quick photograph of her being handed to a paramedic.

Epilogue

Jessica McClure was rushed to the hospital where doctors attempted to treat her injuries. Fearing that her right leg had suffered gangrene due to it being pinned against her body for more than 50 hours, doctors used a hyperbaric treatment. In the end, they only had to amputate one of Jessica's toes. Other than that, she made a full recovery from her ordeal. She grew up, got married, and is currently happily living in Texas with three kids. She has no memory of the entire ordeal. The well pipe that she fell into was later sealed off so that no child could ever fall into it ever again.

The picture by Scott Shaw of Jessica's rescue would go on to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for the year 1988. Today, the rescue of Jessica McClure is remembered as a remarkable story of survival and incredible courage to saving an innocent child from a tragic death. President Ronald Reagan was quoted as saying, "Everybody in America became godmothers and godfathers of Jessica while this was going on". It is a story that will always deserve to be told.

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/03/31/Scott-Shaw-of-the-Odessa-American-said-he-was/9084575787600/

https://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2019/10/ill-never-forget-her-singing-winnie-the-pooh-the-rescue of-baby-jessica-in-1987.html

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/baby-jessica-rescued-from-a-well-as-the-world-watches

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-10-17/news/mn-3702_1_jessica-mcclure