The team considered his offer,[6][7][8] but ultimately EMT/paramedic Robert O'Donnell was the one who descended the shaft, inching his way into the tunnel and wresting Jessica free from her position pinned inside the well with one leg above her forehead.

Throughout the incident, local media outlet KMID-TV received calls from news organizations and private individuals globally, seeking the latest information.

A photograph of McClure's rescue by Scott Shaw of the Odessa American received the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography.

[10] Following McClure's rescue on October 16, 1987, doctors feared they would have to amputate Jessica's foot due to damage from loss of blood flow sustained from her leg being elevated above her head for the 58 and a half hours she was stuck in the well.

Jessica carries a scar on her forehead where her head rubbed against the well casing and, despite the incident and 15 subsequent related surgeries, retains no first-hand memory of the events.

[13] Paramedic Robert O'Donnell (August 27, 1957 – April 27, 1995) developed post-traumatic stress disorder after the rescue and later struggled to cope with the abrupt decline in recognition/fame that he had experienced in the immediate aftermath of his heroic act.

[15] When McClure turned 25 on March 26, 2011, she received a trust fund, composed of donations from around the world, which she discussed using for her children's college and which she used to purchase her home, less than 2 mi (3 km) from the well into which she fell.