A child who has been missing since her parents were found murdered in a wooded space in Houston in 1981 has been found, Texas authorities have introduced. Holly Clouse, now 42, is alive and effectively, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s workplace mentioned in a assertion Wednesday.
Clouse was about a 12 months outdated when her parents’ our bodies were found in January 1981, based on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. They weren’t recognized till 2021, when a forensic genetic family tree agency mentioned they were Harold Dean Clouse Jr. and Tina Gail Linn Clouse, initially of Florida, based on Paxton’s workplace.
Their deaths are nonetheless below investigation, Paxton’s workplace mentioned. Their households had final heard from the couple in October 1980, Texas First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster mentioned throughout a press convention Thursday.
Webster mentioned the household who raised Clouse aren’t thought-about suspects in the killing of her organic parents. He requested the general public to contact investigators with any information concerning the killings, which he mentioned occurred between December 1980 and early January 1981.
“While we rejoice today that Holly has been found and families that were looking for her for decades rejoice, we still are looking for suspects in this case,” Webster mentioned.
As a child, Clouse was left at an Arizona church, Webster mentioned. He did not present particulars about who found her, and didn’t say when she was found on the church.Â
Webster mentioned two girls introduced Clouse to the church. The girls, who recognized themselves as members of a nomadic non secular group, wore white robes and were barefoot, Webster mentioned.
“They indicated the beliefs of their religion included the separation of male and female members, practicing vegetarian habits and not using or wearing leather goods,” he mentioned.
Webster mentioned the ladies indicated that they had beforehand given up a child at a laundromat.
Members of the group are believed to have traveled in Arizona, California and probably Texas, Webster mentioned. During the early Nineteen Eighties, members of the group were noticed in the Yuma, Arizona, space, with the feminine members asking for meals, he mentioned.
In late December 1980 or early January 1981, the households of Clouse’s parents acquired a name from a individual who recognized herself as “Sister Susan,” Webster mentioned. The caller mentioned she was in Los Angeles and wished to return the parents’ automobile to the household.
“She further stated that Tina and Dean had joined their religious group and no longer wanted to have contact with their families; they were also giving up all of their possessions,” Webster mentioned.
The household and the caller arrange a assembly at a racetrack in Daytona, Florida, Webster mentioned. A gaggle of both two or three girls, all carrying robes, and probably a male met the household, who had contacted authorities.
Webster mentioned the ladies were reportedly taken into custody, however investigators have not found a police report concerning the incident, which Webster mentioned wasn’t uncommon given how way back it occurred.
Clouse has been informed of her organic parents’ identities and has been in contact with her newfound family, Paxton’s workplace mentioned.
“That baby was her life,” Tina Clouse’s sister, Sherry Linn Green, mentioned of Holly Clouse in a assertion.
CBS affiliate KHOU-TV reviews Holly Clouse now lives in Oklahoma and has 5 youngsters of her personal.
“The very first thing that ran through my head when we heard Holly was found was the call that I got eight months ago … about my sister’s death,” Tina Clouse’s brother, Les Linn, mentioned in a assertion. “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?”
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children