The missing daughter of two newlyweds who were murdered and dumped in the Texas woods more than 40 years ago was left at an Arizona church by remembers of a religious cult.
Holly Marie Clouse was an infant when her parents Harold Dean Clouse and Tina Gail Clouse disappeared in late 1980 while moving from Florida to Texas.
Harold, 21, and Tina, 17, were found in dead in a wooded area of Houston on January 12, 1981. Their identities were not known until DNA linked them to Kentucky family members last year.
Holly, the infant child of the couple, was never found along with their bodies, leading investigators to suspect she may still be alive.
Holly, a 42 year-old mother-of-5 living in Oklahoma was found by family history detectives.
Her parents died, but it is still not clear what she did after that. To provide more information, police will host a press conference today.
Holly was at work in Oklahoma when police arrived. This would have been Harold’s third birthday.
According to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, Holly had been connected with her biological family. She hopes to see them soon.
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 from Florida to Texas
Holly, pictured, has been reunited with her extended biological family more than 40 years later
Holly spoke via internet with extended family members for the first times on Tuesday.
Det. Steve Wheeler from Volusia County Sheriff’s Office told KHOU. It’s an opportunity once in a life time to be able to help reunite a family that has been separated for 40 years.
Holly isn’t yet known if her parents were aware of Holly’s birth. Officials are still not revealing how Holly was identified.
Texas’ Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit Investigators started looking for Holly After officials earlier in the year confirmed that Harold and Tina were real,
Hope for Holly They worked across states with Arizona law enforcement officials to locate Tina and Harold’s child missing in Texas.
Holly’s extended family said Holly found her a blessing.
Tina Gail Linn Clouse (17 years old) and Harold Dean Clouse (21) were discovered dead in Houston’s woods in January 1981. At the time their identities were not known.
Two months later, their bodies were discovered by the dogs off Wallisville Road Houston. Tina and Harold were both bound and gagged after being beaten. Pictured in February 2022 is the location where they were found.
After Tina and Harold were confirmed earlier in the year, officials from Texas began searching for Holly.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released an ‘age progression’ photo earlier this year projecting what Holly might look like as an adult
“Finding Holly is a birthday gift from heaven because we found her on Junior’s Birthday. Her grandmother Donna Casasanta said that she prayed 40 years in search of answers. “We have found Holly.”
“Thanks to Holly’s investigators. It was a prayer that I kept praying for Holly, and that she would be found. Mindy Montford, I am grateful from the bottom my heart. Our gratitude will never cease.
Tina and Harold Clouse were married in 1979. They moved from Volusia County in Florida to Texas in 1980. In the latter part of 1980, Tina disappeared. Harold wanted to be a carpenter.
After they vanished, the car of the newlyweds was recovered by relatives. It was believed that they were members in good standing of some religious cult.
Two months later, their bodies were discovered by the dogs off Wallisville Road Houston. Tina and Harold were both bound and gagged after being beaten. The scene was free of any signs of Tina, their infant girl.
Mary Mize, Harris County’s Forensic Artist, created pastel representations of Harold (left), and Tina (right), in their youth. Clouse was found with their bodies, but no one could identify them because they only moved to Houston recently.
Officials still haven’t revealed the identity of Oklahoma’s mother-of-5 as Holly Marie Clouse, (pictured during infancy).
Mary Mize, a Harris County forensic artist at the time, created pastel representations of the couple following their deaths. However no one was able identify them because they moved here only a few months ago.
In July 2011, the bodies of both Clouses had been exhumed to determine if they were related. Indentifinders International received the puzzle and contacted Misty Gillis, FHD Forensics’ forensic scientist, and gave them the case.
GEDmatch.com provided new information, and they were able matching the DNA of Harold Clouse with Kentucky’s cousins.
The bodies were eventually identified as Harold and Tina by investigators who reached out to Harold’s sister Debbie Brooks.
Brooks then asked Brooks if the team had discovered the baby. But the scientists didn’t know Holly existed. Holly was last seen at Lewisville in Texas. This discrepancy led to a renewed search for Holly.
Holly’s extended relatives (pictured here in February at Tina and Harold’s graves) have said that finding Holly was an ‘inspiration from heaven’
“The first thing I thought of when Holly was discovered was the eight-month old call from [Peacock]Holly Linn said that Holly was concerned about her sister’s death after his niece went missing.
“The contrast of Holly’s call and Holly’s sudden discovery just came to my mind. To go from hoping to find her to suddenly meeting her less than 8 months later — how miraculous is that?’
“It is such an amazing blessing to know that she is fine and has led a normal life. Last night was a good one for the whole family. Mindy Clouse, Cheryl Clouse’s aunt, echoed her sentiments that the Hope for Holly Project was a huge success because of Mindy and her team.
No arrests were ever made in connection to Harold and Tina’s murders and the investigation into their deaths remains ongoing.
If you have any information, please contact the Texas Attorney-General’s Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit.