FAMILY AT EASE AFTER THE MISSING BABY OF A COUPLE MURDERED 40 YEARS AGO WAS FOUND ALIVE

On January 12, 1981, the newlyweds were discovered dead in a wooded area of Houston. Their identities remained a mystery until this year, when DNA linked the couple to Kentucky relatives.

Holly, now 42, was raised by a family who are not suspects in her biological parents’ murders, according to the Texas Attorney General’s Office. She and her five children currently reside in Oklahoma.

Holly and her birth family met via the internet for the first time earlier this week. In the near future, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children will host an in-person gathering.

In late December 1980 or early January 1981, Harold and Tina’s family was contacted by Sister Susan, an alleged member of the religious cult.

Harold, 21, and Tina, 17, had joined their religious cult and no longer wanted to communicate with their families, according to the woman.

She also stated that the pair would be giving up all of their belongings.

Susan, who claimed to be calling from Los Angeles, California, demanded money in exchange for the vehicle’s return to the family’s home at Florida.

They planned to meet the woman in early January at the Daytona Race Track and informed authorities of their plans.

During the meetup, the family said they interacted with two to three ladies and possibly one man. The people in the robes appeared to be from the same group that had left Holly off at the chapel.

The group did return Harold’s mother’s car, and Florida police apparently arrested them, but the Texas Attorney General’s office claimed they have not found any record of the incident.

Their family last heard from Harold and Tina in October 1980, when they were living in Lewisville, Texas.

They were assassinated between December 1980 and January 1981.

Tina had been strangled, while Harold had been beaten, chained, and gagged.

Between January 6 and 11, their bodies were discovered by dogs near Wallisville Road in Houston.They were unidentified until this year, when a familial DNA was connected to their bodies.

The murders of Harold and Tina were never solved, and the investigation into their deaths is still ongoing.

The Texas Attorney General’s Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit is asking anyone with information about the case to contact them.

First Assistant Attorney General, Brent Webster, during a press conference on Thursday said, ‘We wish Holly the best. We are grateful we found her but we must continue with our investigation into who killed them’.

On what would have been Harold’s 63rd birthday, police stepped it up at Holly’s workplace in Oklahoma.

Officials reunited her with her biological family, and the extended family talked for the first time via the internet.

‘It’s one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever been a part of. It’s a once in a lifetime thing to play even a small part in reuniting a family after 40 years, ‘ Det. Steve Wheeler, Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, told KHOU.

After Harold and Tina’s identities were established earlier this year, investigators with Texas’ newly formed Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit began searching for Holly.

Law enforcement personnel from Texas, Florida, and Arizona collaborated on the Hope for Holly project to locate Harold and Tina’s missing child.

Holly’s extended family, on the other hand, stated that meeting her was an answer to prayer.

‘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,’ her grandmother, Donna Casasanta, said.

‘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. We will be forever grateful,’ she added.

After their bodies were discovered in 1981, forensic artist Mary Mize created pastel reconstructions of the couple, but no one was able to identify them because they had only recently relocated to Houston.

The bodies of the Clouses were excavated in July 2011 to see if they were connected.

The 40-year-old case had a huge break in 2021, when forensic scientists Misty Gillis and Allison Peacock of FHD Forensics were called by Indentifinders International and given the perplexing riddle.

The researchers uploaded GEDmatch.com with additional information and were able to match Harold Clouse’s DNA with his Kentucky cousins.

Harold’s sister, Debbie Brooks, assisted investigators in identifying the dead as Harold and Tina.

Brooks then inquired about the baby, but the scientists were completely unaware of Holly’s existence. The disparity prompted a new search for the missing toddler.

Officials have not revealed how the Oklahoma mother-of-five was recognized as the mother of missing infant Holly.

Regardless, her family and friends are overjoyed to have been reconnected with her for the first time in over four decades.

After police found his missing niece, 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 [Peacock] about my sister’s death’.

He added, ‘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?’

‘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 Hope for Holly Project was a success thanks to Mindy and her team,’ her aunt, Cheryl Clouse affirmed.