Jessica McClure
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Jessica McClure (born March 26, 1986) became famous at 18 months after getting herself trapped in a Midland, Texas well in October 1987. Rescuers worked for 58 hours to free "Baby Jessica" from an 8-inch-wide pipe. The story gained worldwide attention and was the subject of a 1989 ABC TV movie, Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure, starring Patty Duke and Beau Bridges. [1] (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097303/) As presented in the movie, a vital part of the rescue was to use the relatively new technology of waterjet cutting.
McClure graduated from Greenwood High School, near Midland, in 2004.
Robert O'Donnell, a paramedic rescue worker who had a crucial role in freeing Jessica, committed suicide eight years after this event. This has been cited as a possible example of suicide due to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.
Parodies
The "Baby Jessica" story was spoofed in The Simpsons episode "Radio Bart." Unlike Baby Jessica (who was trapped for real), the story centered on Bart pulling a prank by placing a transistor radio inside a well and, by using the Superstar Celebrity Microphone, claiming to be a young boy who had become trapped inside. Later, when he realizes his scheme will be exposed, he goes to the well to retrieve the radio, and becomes trapped for real.
See also: Disturbing legacy of Rescues (http://suicideandmentalhealthassociationinternational.org/disleg.html)