Jessica Morales, who captivated the world as “Baby Jessica” when she was rescued from a well decades ago as a toddler, was arrested Saturday night on a domestic violence charge at her home in Texas.
Morales, now 40, was taken after a domestic disturbance at her home in Midland County, Texas. Records indicate she was charged with assault causing bodily injury involving family violence. She was later released from the Midland County Detention Center after posting bond.
Officials declined to provide further details about the arrest or name anyone else involved.
Morales lives in Midland with her husband, Daniel Morales, and their two children.
She first became a household name on October 14, 1987, when she was 18 months old and fell into an 8-inch wide abandoned well in her aunt’s backyard in Midland. She was trapped roughly 22 feet underground for 58 hours while rescuers drilled a parallel shaft and a horizontal tunnel through solid rock to reach her.
When she was finally brought to the surface on the evening of October 16, her head was bandaged and her body covered in dirt and bruises. She underwent multiple surgeries in the aftermath.
Morales has since said in interviews that she has no memory of the ordeal.
The rescue drew massive international media coverage. A 1997 Pew Research poll found that in the decade prior, only the death of Princess Diana rivaled Baby Jessica’s rescue in worldwide attention.
Then-Vice President George Bush and his wife Barbara, both former Midland residents, visited the family at the hospital, and President Ronald Reagan called to wish her well.
Here is Morales’ mugshot following her arrest in Midland County —
