Inside the Well: The Midland, Texas Rescue of Baby Jessica

by Lance Lunsford

On October 14, 1987, eighteen-month-old Jessica McClure fell into a well, igniting a 56-hour sprint to free her.

The oil boomtown of Midland, Texas, supplied a ragtag crew of rescuers. Firemen, policemen, roofing contractors, oil drillers, mining engineers, cowpokes, and nosy neighbors all worked together, improvising their way to the story’s happy when paramedics hoisted baby Jessica into the limelight.



Also on the scene was fourth-grader Lance Lunsford, who craned his neck over the fence to try to watch the events unfold. There was a lot to see. Every major news station—local, regional, national, and even global—was represented. CNN for the first time inaugurated 24-hour reporting, birthing the round-the-clock disaster coverage commonplace on cable news today.



Later in life as a reporter for the Midland Reporter-Telegram, Lunsford was writing a retrospective on the rescue when he realized that much of the story had not yet been told.



Lunsford’s gripping firsthand narrative documents not just the play-by-by action of the rescue itself but also the lives of the rescuers, their triumph, and, for some, their ultimate tragedy. Bolstered by recollection, exclusive interviews, and deep local knowledge, Inside the Well is the definitive book on a West Texas story that became a twentieth century media phenomenon.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published July 10, 2024

Reviews

[Doug Lunsford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was great. Not just the facts that we all know! Especially if you were there to witness it. My parents lived in the third house north of this at 3407 and I grew up freshman in high school through sophomore in college in that house.

I was called on company radio asking about age if my own daughter and I asked the location! Tanner Drive! I was in Eunice NM in 6 cylinder Oldsmobile. Outran two NM HP. When I pulled into parents driveway I saw my own daughter in the patio. It was my Dad’s 66th birthday and he had just retired. They put up a lot of the out of town reporters and Lance saw this all first hand!

So much more to the story before and following the incident of the that “little girl in the well over in Midland TX”!

[Texas Standard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book recounts the dramatic 1987 rescue of 18-month-old Jessica McClure after she fell into a narrow well in her aunt's backyard. The book provides a detailed narrative of the rescue operation, highlighting the extraordinary efforts of the emergency responders and the community's unity. It also explores the media frenzy and the lasting impact of the incident on both the rescuers and Jessica herself.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enthralling

As someone who didn't grow up in Texas and was only vaguely familiar with the story of Baby Jessica, I found this book incredibly interesting. Lunsford creatively wove the story together, tying in history and experiences from multiple players in the historic event. The emotional ripples that continued to sound in the lives of many of the rescuers is not something many of us ever consider after the conclusion of a multi-day rescue effort. Definitely recommend!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s not easy to tell a story from the pov of the non-main characters. Nor is it easy to tell a heartbreak tale of what is commonly viewed as a simple happy ending. But Lunsford taps into veins of complexity, grief, ego, and ultimately the human condition to tell a more thorough story of what happened in those hours, days, and years following baby Jessica’s tumble into the well.

[Susan Devine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for a book club. Parts were interesting. It’s more about the culture of Midland in 1980s and some about PTSD and mental illness in first responders. As a physician it surprised me how all the medical care of an 18 month old was and is an open record!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lance Lunsford’s Inside the Well is the story of “a little girl who, indirectly and with no fault of her own, had the misfortune of falling into an abandoned water well on October 14, 1987. For three fall days, the full weight of the world's attention bore down on a nine hundred square-foot section of Midland, Texas, a boom-and-bust oil town…For the dozens of others involved in the rescue that created a worldwide media frenzy, it was a life-changing experience.”

Without CNN, “Baby Jessica's rescue might have been yet another major news event in history and not nearly the worldwide phenomenon it turned into.” Today, approaching the forty years anniversary, with a frenetic news cycle and an insatiable appetite for all things celebrity, the inside story of the Midland, Texas Rescue “is even more relevant, offering a timeless lesson in human ambition and frailty.”

The story of Baby Jessica was not just about “the rescue of an eighteen-month-old infant. It was not about what she might remember as a teen. It was not about her mom and dad. And it was not about [the author’s] experience of it as a rambunctious nine-year-old. Instead, it was a unique story about West Texas and a community's shared determination in the face of a challenge and amid economic failure and dashed hopes and dreams.”

“A nonfiction plot line that read like a red-hot fiction adventure story…The plight of the little girl trapped in an abandoned well in West Texas was a made-for-television story of the day…Played out in this struggling oil town with a grimy cast of hundreds, it had the tightly scripted feel of fiction.” In Inside the Well, Lunsford recaptures that same sense of community as he recognizes the bravery of Jessica, the perseverance of the McClures and the valiant efforts of the hundreds of volunteers and citizens who gave of their time, skills and prayers.”

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lance Lunsford’s “Inside the Well” is a truly riveting account of the rescue of an 18 month old girl who is widely known as “baby Jessica.” Told in a non-linear style, the discovery of Jessica in the well in addition to her anxiety-inducing rescue cuts back and forth between the tragic aftermath of Robert O’Donnell (the fireman who pulled Jessica free) who suffered from PTSD. Mr. Lunsford’s fiercely intentional reporting is felt on every page; the stressful urgency to rescue Jessica is written with propulsive energy. “Inside the Well” is a crackling deep-dive into how 18 month old Jessica McClure fell into a well that significantly upended the men and women closely associated with the rescue. I could not recommend this book more - it’s a book you won’t easily forget.

[Jovi Guerra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inside the Well goes far beyond the story most people think they know about the Baby Jessica rescue. It doesn’t end when Jessica is saved. It shows how the experience lingered with the rescuers and the impact of the spotlight long after it was over.

The way the book touches on one firefighter’s struggle with PTSD adds a perspective you don’t usually hear about, especially alongside the attention and recognition that followed. It’s a reminder that the people we call heroes are still human. A well told story that goes far beyond a typical feel good rescue story.