At the beginning of the 1980s, a young couple died, presumably they were murdered. The child of the two is not found at that time. Now, more than 40 years later, "Baby Holly" has appeared. The authorities are hoping for new investigative approaches in order to be able to clarify the unexplained deaths.
More than 40 years after the unexplained death of a couple, Texas authorities have located their missing daughter. "Baby Holly was found alive and well and is now 42 years old," said Southwestern Attorney General Ken Paxton's office. The authorities hope to be able to clarify the death of her biological parents. Officials suspect that a mysterious religious sect murdered the two young parents.
In 1981, the bodies of Tina and Harold Clouse were found in a wooded area near Houston, and authorities believe they were killed in December 1980 or January 1981. However, the two could only be finally identified last year. The Clouses' relatives said they last heard from Tina, Harold and baby Holly in 1980. Holly first learned of her own early history when she was visited by police at her place of work on Tuesday - it would have been her slain father's 63rd birthday.
Baby Holly's grandmother, Donna Casasanta, said in a statement that her granddaughter's find was "a birthday gift from heaven" as she was found on her father's birthday. "I've been praying for answers for more than 40 years, and the Lord has revealed some of them," Casasanta said.
The police are now hoping for new clues in the case. According to prosecutors, Holly was left as an infant in an Arizona church. She grew up there in a family whose members are not associated with the criminal case.
Two women who identified themselves as members of a nomadic religious group dropped off Holly at a church, First Assistant District Attorney Brent Webster said. They wore white robes, were barefoot, and proclaimed their religious beliefs included segregating male and female members, practicing vegetarian habits, and not using or wearing leather goods.
A woman calling herself "Sister Susan" contacted the families of the two victims in 1980 or 1981 and said the couple had joined the group and had given up all their belongings. "Sister Susan" offered the family of the dead to buy the couple's car, Webster said at a press conference.
The family agreed to the deal and informed the local authorities at the same time. Several people -- two to three women and possibly one man -- showed up at the meeting at a Daytona racetrack, Webster said. Police officers allegedly took the women into custody, but there is no record of this on file. Something Webster described as "common" for the time.
The women who gave Holly Clouse to the church at the time said they had previously given another baby to a laundromat. The police are now looking for these women. "Baby Holly" is now a mother of five herself and lives in Oklahoma.
