Baby that went missing since parents' murder found alive 42 years later

Holly Marie Clouse, a woman who had vanished as a baby after her parents' murder in 1980, has finally been found alive and well at the age of 42. The woman and her parents had disappeared from Texas without any trace.

Her parents, Harold Dean Clouse (21) and Tina Linn (17), had moved to Texas from Florida. They eventually stopped writing to her biological paternal grandmother, Donna Casasanta, in October 1980.

However, Casasanta did not stop looking for her granddaughter, nor did she stop looking for answers behind the couple's disappearance.

"I prayed for more than 40 years for answers and the Lord has revealed some of it... we have found Holly," Casasanta said. Holly Clouse currently lives with a family in Oklahoma and is happy and well.

The remains of her parents were only identified in 2021 using genetic genealogy, having been found in a wooden area in Houston, Texas in 1981. But there was no sign of their daughter anywhere.

According to a report in The Mirror, Dean Harold Clouse had been beaten to death while his wife, Tina Linn, had been strangled. Holly had been dropped off at a church in Arizona by two white robe-clad women who had claimed to be a part of a religious cult.

She was informed about the identities of her parents on Tuesday, and was also able to speak to her biological relatives over a video call.

"...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," said Tina Linn's sister, Sherry Linn, after the call.

The investigators have not yet revealed how they managed to locate the woman after so many years and how she survived after her parents' murder. They have also not revealed further details about her parents' deaths.

The Texas Attorney General's office in an announcement said: "My office diligently worked across state lines to uncover the mystery surrounding Holly's disappearance. We were successful in our efforts to locate her and reunite her with her biological family."