Baby vanished after her parents’ murder in Texas. She’s found alive 40 years later
A girl known as “Baby Holly” has been found alive and well 40 years after she went missing following the murders of her parents, Texas officials say.
Tina Gail Linn Clouse and Harold Dean Clouse Jr. were discovered dead in a wooded area in Houston in 1981, but it wasn’t until 2021 when they were positively identified, according to the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
The couple had an infant daughter, Holly, who was not found beside their remains. The Linn and Clouse families have been seeking answers for decades, and recently learned the girl named Baby Holly is alive and well, the attorney general’s office said.
Holly is now 42 years old and has been in contact with her extended biological family. She currently lives in Oklahoma, the Houston Chronicle reported.
“Finding Holly is a birthday present from heaven since we found her on Junior’s birthday,” said Donna Casasanta, Holly’s grandmother. “I prayed for more than 40 years for answers and the Lord has revealed some of it... we have found Holly.”
The “Where is Holly Marie?” Facebook page shared a photo on Thursday, June 9, of the 42-year-old Holly.
It’s still unknown who killed Holly’s parents. Dean was found beaten and Tina was strangled, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The attorney general’s office will hold a press conference on Thursday, June 9, regarding its investigation into the case.
The Lewisville Police Department, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children assisted the attorney general’s office in its investigation into Holly’s whereabouts.
In January, detectives launched the Hope for Holly project to help find the girl, as well as assist others with uncertain childhoods. Allison Peacock with Family History Detectives said at the time that she had received communication from many women who hoped they were Holly.
“The Hope for Holly Project will screen, DNA test, and help identify those with uncertain childhoods, including the women who have found hopeful connection to the 1981 story of Holly and her parents,” according to a press release.
On a GoFundMe for the project, organizers thanked the Texas Attorney General Office’s cold case unit for their help in reuniting Holly with her extended family.
Holly’s aunt, Cheryl Clouse, said in a statement she has now met her niece for the first time.
“It is such a blessing to be reassured that she is alright and has had a good life,” Clouse said. “The whole family slept well last night.”
Another one of her aunts, Sherry Linn Green, said she believes her sister, Tina, is “resting in peace knowing Holly is reuniting with her family.”
“I personally am so relived to know Holly is alive and well and was well cared for, but also torn up by it all,” she said. “That baby was her life.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2022 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Baby vanished after her parents’ murder in Texas. She’s found alive 40 years later."