'Baby Holly' Found Alive 40+ Years After Her FL Parents Were Killed

FLORIDA — A cold case involving the mysterious death of a Florida couple and the disappearance of their infant daughter has had a major breakthrough.

According to a news release from the Texas Attorney General's Office, the couple's infant daughter, "Baby Holly," has been located more than 40 years after she went missing and is alive.

Authorities said Tina Gail Linn Clouse and Harold Dean Clouse Jr., Holly's parents, were the apparent victims of a homicide in 1980. Harold had been beaten to death and his wife was strangled, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The Clouse family had moved to Texas from New Smyrna, Florida but all three abruptly vanished not long after the move, the newspaper said.

In 1981, the couple's bodies were discovered in a wooded area in Houston. However, it wasn't until 2021 that law enforcement, through DNA, confirmed their identities, according to the Texas Attorney General's Office.

In an effort to help locate Holly after her parents were identified, Family History Detectives (FHD Forensics) launched the Hope For Holly DNA Project in her honor and became the custodian of the genetic profiles of several of Holly's family members.

Genetic genealogy ultimately led to the discovery of the couple's daughter, Holly, who is now 42 years old, authorities said.

“I am extremely proud of the exceptional work done by my office’s newly formed Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit. 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.” Attorney General Paxton said.

Paxton said Holly has been notified of the identities of her biological parents and has been in contact with her extended biological family. They hope to meet in person soon.

Founder of FHD Forensics and one of the genealogists involved in identifying Holly's parents, Allison Peacock praised her family for never giving up.

"They've spent the past six months with me digging through records, gathering photos for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's age progression portrait, and documenting memories of Holly and her parents in an effort to help law enforcement," Peacock commented.

In a statement, Holly's grandmother said learning that her granddaughter is still alive is a "present from heaven."

"I prayed for more than 40 years for answers and the Lord has revealed some of it... we have found Holly," said Donna Casasanta, Holly's grandmother. “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."

Due to the sensitive nature of the ongoing criminal investigation, additional information about Holly's childhood and separation from her parents is not available at this time, FHD Forensics said.

The investigation into who killed Holly’s biological parents is still underway. If anyone has information about their deaths, contact the Texas Attorney General’s Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit at coldcaseunit@oag.texas.gov .