The missing daughter of two Texas newlyweds who were murdered and abandoned in the woods more than 40 years ago has been found alive.
Holly Marie Clouse was a toddler when her parents, Harold Dean Clouse and Tina Gail Clouse, disappeared in late 1980 while moving to Texas from Florida.
Harold, 21, and Tina, 17, were found dead on January 12, 1981 in a Houston wooded area. However, their identities remained unknown until last year, when DNA linked the couple to family members in Kentucky.
The couple’s baby daughter, Holly, was not found with her remains, leading investigators to believe she may still be alive.
Family history investigators have now located Holly, a 42-year-old mother of five who lives in Oklahoma. What happened to her after her parents were killed is unclear.
Holly has been connected to her extended biological family and hopes to meet them in person soon, the Texas Attorney General’s Office reported.
Holly Marie Clouse (pictured as a baby) was an infant when her parents, Harold Dean Clouse and Tina Gail Clouse, disappeared in late 1980 while moving to Texas from Florida
Now, more than four decades later, Holly (pictured) is reconnected with her extended biological family
Police showed up at Holly’s Oklahoma workplace on Tuesday, on Harold’s 63rd birthday.
Hours later, she spoke to her extended family over the internet for the first time.
“It’s one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever been a part of,” Det. Steve Wheeler of the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, told KHOU. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing to play even a small part in reuniting a family after 40 years.”
It’s unclear if she was made aware of the identities of her birth parents before Tuesday, as officials have not yet revealed how they identified Holly.
Law enforcement will hold a press conference Thursday at 2:30 p.m. CST and are likely to provide more details at that time.
Investigators from Texas’ newly formed Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit began searching for Holly after officers confirmed Harold and Tina’s identities earlier this year.
Harold Dean Clouse, 21, and Tina Gail (Linn) Clouse, 17, (pictured with their one-year-old daughter Holly Marie) were found dead in a wooded area in Houston, Texas, in January 1981 — at the time , their identities were unknown
Their bodies were found by dogs on Wallisville Road in Houston two months later. Harold had been beaten, bound and gagged while Tina had been strangled. The area where her remains were found is pictured in February 2022
The Texas Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit began searching for Holly (pictured as a baby) after officers confirmed Harold and Tina’s identities earlier this year
The Hope for Holly project stretched across state lines, with law enforcement officials in Texas, Florida and Arizona working to locate Harold and Tina’s missing baby.
Meanwhile, Holly’s extended family said finding her was an answered prayer.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released an “age history photo” earlier this year showing what Holly might look like as an adult
“Finding Holly is a godsend for her birthday as we found her on Junior’s birthday. I’ve prayed for answers for more than 40 years and the Lord has revealed some of it…we found Holly,” said her grandmother, Donna Casasanta.
“Thank you to all the investigators who worked so hard to find Holly. I prayed for her every day and that she would find Holly and be okay. I thank Mindy Montford from the bottom of my heart. We will be forever grateful.’
Harold and Tina Clouse, who married in 1979, disappeared in late 1980 while moving from Volusia County, Florida to Texas. Harold went to work as a carpenter.
The couple’s car was returned to their family after their disappearance, and relatives were led to believe the newlyweds had joined a religious sect and no longer wished to be contacted.
Their bodies were found by dogs on Wallisville Road in Houston two months later. Harold had been beaten, bound and gagged while Tina had been strangled. There was no sign of her young daughter at the scene.
Harris County forensic artist Mary Mize drew pastel reconstructions of Harold (left, in his youth) and Tina (right, in his youth) Clouse in January 1981 after their bodies were found, but no one has been able to identify the couple because they had only recently moved to Houston
Officials have not yet revealed how they identified the Oklahoma mother-of-five as missing Holly Marie Clouse (pictured in infancy).
Then-Harris County forensic artist Mary Mize drew pastel reconstructions of the couple after their bodies were found, but no one has been able to identify the couple since they had only recently moved to Houston.
The Clouse’s bodies had been exhumed in July 2011 to check if the couple were related. In 2021, however, a major breakthrough came in the 40-year-old case when forensic scientists Misty Gillis and Allison Peacock of FHD Forensics were contacted by Indentifinders International and presented the puzzling puzzle.
The team added new information to GEDmatch.com and were able to match Harold Clouse’s DNA to his cousins in Kentucky.
Investigators reached out to Harold’s sister, Debbie Brooks, and eventually identified the bodies as Harold and Tina.
Brooks then asked the team if they had found the baby, but scientists hadn’t known that Holly, who was last seen in Lewisville, Texas, even existed. The discrepancy prompted a renewed search for the child.
Holly’s extended family (pictured at the site where Harold and Tina’s bodies were found in February) said it was a “godsend” to find her.
“The very first thing that went through my mind when we heard that Holly had been found was the call I received eight months ago [Peacock] about my sister’s death,” said Les Linn, Holly’s uncle, after police found his missing niece.
“Contrasting that phone call with Holly’s sudden discovery just came to mind. From hoping to find her to suddenly meeting her less than 8 months later, how wonderful is that?
“It’s such a blessing to have peace of mind that she’s fine and has had a good life. The whole family slept well last night. The Hope for Holly project was a success thanks to Mindy and her team,” echoed her aunt, Cheryl Clouse.
Arrests have never been made in connection with the murders of Harold and Tina, and the investigation into their deaths is ongoing.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Texas Attorney General’s Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit.