Life of woman known as ‘Baby Jessica’ after 1987 well rescue takes dark turn

Jessica McClure Morales, the woman who gained worldwide notoriety as “Baby Jessica” in 1987 when she was rescued after falling down a well at 18 months old, was arrested in Midland County, Texas, following an alleged domestic dispute.

Morales, now 40, was arrested Saturday evening by the Midland County Sheriff’s Office at her home in Midland County, according to KMID/KPEJ, citing arrest records.

The station says Morales was charged with assault causing bodily injury involving domestic violence and was later released from the Midland County Detention Center after posting bond.

The sheriff’s office confirmed the arrest to FOX 4 in Dallas-Fort Worth.

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Jessica McClure, 18 months old, fell into an eight-inch diameter well shaft in Midland, Texas on October 14, 1987. She was rescued after 58 hours on October 16, 1987. (Barbara Laing/Liaison Agency/Getty Images)

Further details about the alleged incident were not immediately available and the Midland County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

Morales attracted international media coverage as a baby when she fell into an 8-inch-wide well at her aunt’s home in the area.

She remained stuck in the shaft for approximately 58 hours before being brought to the surface on the evening of October 16, 1987.

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Rescuers worked for 58 hours to free “Baby Jessica” from an 8-inch-wide hole where she fell. (David Woo/Sygma/Getty Images)

Morales was trapped about 22 feet underground during the ordeal and was rescued after first responders drilled a parallel shaft and horizontal tunnel through the rock to access her location, KMID/KPEJ reported.

When rescuers brought Morales to the surface a few days later, her head was bandaged and she was covered in dirt and bruises.

Jessica McClure Morales, who gained national attention as “Baby Jessica” after being rescued from a well in 1987, was arrested in Midland County, Texas, for assault causing bodily injury involving domestic violence. (Midland County Sheriff’s Office via FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth)

A poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press in 1997, measuring media coverage of Princess Diana’s death earlier that year, found that in the previous decade, only Jessica’s rescue rivaled the Paris car crash for worldwide attention.

Chip McClure, Morales’ father, remembers being “absolutely stunned” by the media coverage once the family arrived at the hospital with Jessica.

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George Bush, then vice president, and his wife Barbara, former Midland residents, visited him. President Ronald Reagan called.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.