Texas Baby Missing for Decades Following Parents’ Murders Found Alive at 42

A woman who went missing as a baby after her parents were killed more than 40 years ago was found Tuesday and reunited with her biological family, thanks to a newly established Cold Case and Missing Person unit by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office.

In a press release, Paxton’s office stated that “baby Holly,” who is now 42 years old, “has been located alive and well.” The Houston Chronicle reported that Holly, an Oklahoma resident, was notified of her identity Tuesday.

“I am extremely proud of the exceptional work done by my office’s newly formed Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit,” Paxton said in the release. “My office diligently worked across state lines to uncover the mystery surrounding Holly’s disappearance.”

The case extends back to 1980 when Tina Gail Linn Clouse, her husband Harold Dean Clouse Jr., and Holly moved to Lewisville, Texas, from Florida, the Houston Chronicle noted. The Clouses kept in touch with Harold’s mother, Donna Casasanta, through letters, but communication suddenly ceased in October 1980. For years, Clouse’s and Linn’s families were left without answers about what happened to their children and grandchild. 

Months after the letters ceased, a dog located a decomposed human arm miles east of Houston in January 1981 and brought it to its owner, which triggered search efforts that culminated in the location of two bodies. One was a man who was “beaten to death,” and the other was a woman “who’d been strangled,” the Chronicle noted. A child’s corpse was not recovered from the scene.

The bodies were finally identified as the Clouses last year thanks to genetic genealogy, Paxton’s office said. Casasanta subsequently received a bit of closure when she heard the news in October, according to the Chronicle, but lingering questions persisted about baby Holly.

Those questions were answered, in part, when Holly was located in Oklahoma. Investigators visited her at work on Tuesday, where they informed her of her biological parents’ identities.

“Thank you to all of the investigators for working so hard to find Holly,” Casasanta said in the release. “I prayed for them day after day and that they would find Holly and she would be alright.”

Holly, who has been married for over two decades and “has five children and two infant grandchildren,” joined her aunts, uncles, and Casasanta on a zoom call, the Chronicle noted. KHOU noted that her mother’s side of the family was present for the call as well.

“It was so exciting to see Holly. I was so happy to meet her for the first time,” Holly’s aunt, Cheryl Clouse, stated in the release. “It is such a blessing to be reassured that she is alright and has had a good life. The whole family slept well last night.”

The circumstances surrounding Holly’s childhood upbringing and guardians following her parents’ deaths remain unclear. The investigation into the Clouses’ murders remains ongoing. Those with information regarding the case are urged to contact Paxton’s Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit.