- Holly Marie Clouse has been found, decades after her parents’ bodies turned up in the woods in Harris County, Texas.
- She remained a mystery for over 40 years.
- The daughter of Howard Dean Clouse Jr. and Tina Linn Clouse has been reunited with her extended family.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office announced on June 8 that the previously missing woman, Tina Linn Clouse, daughter of Howard Dean Clouse Jr. and Tina Linn Clouse, had been reunited with her extended family. Thanks to efforts by law enforcement in three states and genealogists using advanced DNA tracing technology.
The office claimed in a statement that “Baby Holly has been located alive and healthy and is now 42 years old.” “Holly was informed of her biological parents’ names and has been in contact with her extended biological family; they plan to meet in person soon.”
According to The Houston Chronicle, Donna Casasanta, her paternal grandmother, received word this week that her long-lost granddaughter had been recovered. On what would have been her father’s 63rd birthday, investigators stepped into Holly’s office and told her who she was. Hours later, she met Donna and aunts and uncles on Zoom.
Read more: Bob Chapek’s removal of Peter Rice shocked Hollywood execs, Insiders
Holly’s aunt, Cheryl Clouse, added, “It was wonderful to see Holly. I was overjoyed at the prospect of meeting her for the first time. It’s such a relief to know that she’s fine and has lived a happy life. Last night, the entire family slept soundly.”
Holly was found by the Texas Attorney General’s Office’s Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit, 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 and Exploited Children. An Attorney General’s Office representative indicated during a press conference in Houston on June 9 that her family is not a suspect in her parents’ killings.
A German shepherd strayed out of the woods onto a road in Harris County, Texas, in January 1981, carrying a decaying human limb in its jaws. The bodies of Harold, also known as Dean, 22, who had been beaten to death, and his wife Tina, 18, who had been strangled, were discovered in a grove of trees a week later, according to the Houston Chronicle. They were buried without their identities being known.
“Holly was brought to the church by two women who introduced themselves as members of a nomadic religious church,” he claimed. “They were dressed in white robes and walked around barefoot. They stated their religious principles, which included the separation of male and female members, the practice of vegetarianism, and the prohibition of using or wearing leather goods. The women said they had previously handed up a baby at a laundromat. This particular group is thought to have journeyed throughout the Southwest, including Arizona, California, and maybe Texas.”
According to a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office, Dean and Tina’s families received a phone call from a woman who identified herself as “Sister Susan” who said she was calling from Los Angeles and wanted to return the couple’s car in exchange for money around December 1980 or January 1981.
Read more: Johnny Depp pays tribute to Hollywood actress after winning battle against Amber
Sherry Linn Green, another of Holly’s aunts, said in a statement given by the Attorney General’s Office that “the Hope for Holly Project was a success thanks to Mindy and her team,” referring to Mindy Montford, senior counsel for the Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit.
