Inside the Well

The Midland, Texas Rescue of Baby Jessica

Lance Lunsford

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English

Texas Tech Press,U.S.
31 July 2024

Regional & national history; Media studies; Television technology

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 conclusion: 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.

By: Lance Lunsford
Imprint: Texas Tech Press,U.S.
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781682832189
ISBN 10: 168283218X
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 31 July 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Lance Lunsford serves as senior partner at Groundswell Health, a company he co-founded in Austin, Texas, focusing on strategic communication programs for healthcare organizations. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and serves on the board of the Central Texas chapter. Lunsford started his career in journalism as a reporter before becoming city editor of a major West Texas daily newspaper at age 24. Lunsford was the first to produce and implement digital content features at multiple newspapers between 2003 and 2007. He later began his own digital marketing firm, introducing small businesses into the digital realm with access to online streaming video for augmented web exposure.