The story of the girl trapped in the Los Angeles sewer was loosely based on the real life tragedy of Kathy Fiscus of San Marino, California. On 9 April 1949, the three-year-old fell down a 90-foot deep, 14-inch wide uncapped well. After 50 hours, rescuers finally reached her, but she had already died. It was one of the first televised "media events," with more than 27 hours of the rescue recorded by television cameras. History repeated itself in 1987 when Jessica McClure fell down a well in Texas, though she was brought up alive after 58 hours.