Story last updated at 1:03 a.m. Tuesday, June 1, 2004

'Baby Jessica' McClure graduates from high school

A rescue worker carries 18-month-old Jessica McClure in this Oct. 16, 1987, file photo, shortly after she was rescued from an abandoned water well in Midland, Texas.

MIDLAND, Texas (AP) -- "Baby Jessica," who held the attention of the nation as a toddler when she fell into an abandoned well 17 years ago, is now a high school graduate.

Crews struggled for 58 hours to rescue Jessica McClure from an 8-inch-wide pipe in October 1987.

Now 18, McClure joined more than 100 other seniors at Greenwood High School near Midland in receiving their diplomas Friday night.

"We're just trying to get back to having a normal life," said her mother, Cissy Porter, commenting on her daughter's behalf.

The case of 18-month-old Jessica created a nationwide sensation. Emergency crews rescued her -- a dramatic moment covered on live television -- after digging a parallel shaft and then breaking through the wall of the well.