'Baby Holly' found alive 40 years after parents were murdered and dumped in woods

10 June 2022, 02:04

The missing daughter of a couple who were murdered and dumped in the woods in Texas over 40 years ago has been found alive.

Holly Marie Clouse, who was a baby at the time, was left at an Arizona church by members of a religious group, police said.

The two white robe-wearing women were members of a 'nomadic religious group' that practiced separation of the sexes and vegetarianism.

They claimed to have previously given up another baby at a laundromat.

Holly's biological parents - Tina Gail Linn Clouse and Harold Dean Clouse Jr. - disappeared in the early '80s while moving from Florida to Texas.

They were found dead in a wooded area in Houston, Texas, in 1981 - believed to be victims of a homicide - but their identities remained a mystery until 2021.

Holly, now 42, was raised by a family who are not considered suspects in the murder of her biological parents, the Texas Attorney General's Office said on Thursday.

She lives in Oklahoma with her five children and met her biological family online for the first time earlier this week.

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Holly's grandmother, Donna Casasanta, said: "Finding Holly is a birthday present from heaven since we found her on Junior's birthday.

"I prayed for more than 40 years for answers and the Lord has revealed some of it... we have found Holly.

"Thank you to all of the investigators for working so hard to find Holly.

"I prayed for them day after day and that they would find Holly and she would be alright. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to Mindy Montford (Texas Attorney General).

"We will be forever grateful."

Sherry Linn Green, Holly's aunt, said: "After finally being able to reunite with Holly, I dreamed about her and my sister, Tina last night.

"In my dream, Tina was laying on the floor rolling around and laughing and playing with Holly like I saw them do many times before when they lived with me prior to moving to Texas.

"I believe Tina's finally resting in peace knowing Holly is reuniting with her family.

"I personally am so relieved to know Holly is alive and well and was well cared for, but also torn up by it all. That baby was her life.".  

Les Linn, Holly's uncle, said: "The very first thing that ran through my head when we heard Holly was found was the call that I got eight months ago from Allison about my sister's death.

"The juxtaposition of that call with Holly's sudden discovery just popped into my head.

"To go from hoping to find her to suddenly meeting her less than 8 months later — how miraculous is that? All of the detectives involved... they all expressed such fortitude to get to the bottom of this case.

"They have the Linn family's complete support."

The Hope for Holly DNA project on GoFundMe gave an update on Thursday, thanking everyone who got involved in the 40-year search.

"Thanks to the dogged determination of the newly formed TX Attorney General's Cold Case Unit, [Holly] was reunited with her family within hours of learning about her parents from investigators," the post said.

"Thank you again to all of you who donated to the search for Holly long before we had an official law enforcement agency on board.

"The family is deeply grateful for your support."

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is facilitating an in-person meeting in the near future.