A woman who stole America’s hearts when she was a toddler after being dramatically rescued from a water well has now been arrested on suspicion of domestic terror 39 years later.
Jessica McClure Morales – better known as ‘Baby Jessica’ -was charged with domestic family violence after an incident at her home in Midland, Texas, on Saturday night.
McClure Morales, 40, was taken into custody at the scene. She was charged with assault causing bodily injury involving family violence and later released on bond for an undisclosed amount.
Further details about the incident have yet to emerge, with Midland County Sheriff’s Office saying it may take up to 10 days to release McClure Morales’s arrest affidavit, YourBasin.com first reported.
In October 1987, 18-month-old ‘Baby Jessica’ fell 22 feet down an eight-inch wide well casing outside her aunt’s home in Midland.
The subsequent 58-hour rescue attempt was a global sensation and was broadcast live on the three biggest television networks – ABC, NBC and CBS.
Rescuers had to drill a horizontal tunnel and a parallel shaft through rock to access the well and McClure Morales as part of an intense mission that involved specialized techniques and equipment.
During her rescue, crew members reportedly heard the toddler singing before Robert O’Donnell, a paramedic at the scene, made his way through the tight tunnel and saved her.
She underwent multiple surgeries after her rescue after sustaining injures while trapped in the well.
Then-President Ronald Reagan said: ‘Everybody in America became godmothers and godfathers of Jessica while this was going on.’
Her ordeal was turned into a popular 1989 TV movie, Everyone’s Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure.
The Simpsons also aired an episode about McClure’s unique experience in January 1992.
The episode, called ‘Radio Bart,’ showed Homer’s son pretending to get trapped down a well by lowering a radio down and using a microphone to trick Springfield residents.
The prank was successful, but Bart soon realized the radio he used had his name on it.
When he went to retrieve it he ended up actually getting stuck in the well and angry residents refused to save him.
McClure Morales went on to graduate from Greenwood High School in 2004, and in January 2006, she married her husband Daniel Morales.
They share two children together, Simon, and their daughter Sheyenne.
On her 25th birthday in March 2011, McClure Morales gained access to her $1.2 million trust fund.
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