In 1980, family members stopped hearing from Tina Gail Linn Clouse and Harold Dean Clouse Jr. Months later, their bodies were found, and they had been murdered. But the bodies would go unidentified until 2021.

Family members had been waiting on an answer to what happened to the couple for 41 years, but the biggest mystery was the disappearance of the couple’s infant, Holly, who had also gone missing in 1980 with the couple.

Last week, the Texas Attorney General’s Office reported that Holly is alive and living in Oklahoma.

What happened to the parents of ‘Baby Holly’ in 1980?

In 1980, Tina and Harold Clouse met in Florida and fell in love. They moved to Lewisville, Texas, outside of Dallas. Harold Clouse’s mother, Donna Casasanta, told The Houston Chronicle that they continued to stay in touch at that time.

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But shortly after that, she stopped hearing from them until Casasanta received a call from a woman who called herself “Sister Susan.” Sister Susan notified her that the couple joined the religious group she belonged to and had decided to give up their possessions and cut off contact with their families, per The Houston Chronicle.

She told Casasanta she could meet her at the racetrack in Daytona Beach, Florida, to return the couple’s car in exchange for money. Casasanta met three women dressed in robes who returned the car she loaned to her son. Police were notified of the meeting beforehand and took Sister Susan into custody that night, per The Washington Post.

That was the last contact or information Casasanta had about her son until 2021.

In 1981, two bodies were found in Houston. The man appeared to have been beaten to death and the woman was strangled. But the bodies would remain unidentified until 2021, when new DNA evidence technology revealed that the bodies belonged to Tina and Harold Clouse, per a statement from the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

Where has ‘Baby Holly’ been since 1980?

Two women, who were members of the nomadic religious group Sister Susan belonged to, dropped Holly off at a church in Arizona as an infant. Holly was adopted, and the adoptive parents are not suspected of any wrongdoing, NPR reported.

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Holly is now 42 years old and “has been in contact with her extended biological family and they hope to meet in person soon,” according to the statement.

“Finding Holly is a birthday present from heaven since we found her on Junior’s birthday,” Casasanta said. “I prayed for more than 40 years for answers and the Lord has revealed some of it ... we have found Holly.” 

According to NPR, Holly lives in Oklahoma and is a mother of five.

“It was so exciting to see Holly,” Casasanta said. “I was so happy to meet her for the first time. It is such a blessing to be reassured that she is all right and has had a good life. The whole family slept well last night.”

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