Who is Baby Holly Marie?
TRAGEDY struck a Texas neighborhood in the 1980s after two parents were found dead in a wooded area. The bodies remained unidentified until 2021, when authorities used genetic genealogy to identify them as Tina, 17, and Harold Dean Clouse Jr., 21. Who is Baby Holly Marie? Holly Marie Clouse is famously known as the daughter […]
TRAGEDY struck a Texas neighborhood in the 1980s after two parents were found dead in a wooded area.
The bodies remained unidentified until 2021, when authorities used genetic genealogy to identify them as Tina, 17, and Harold Dean Clouse Jr., 21.
Who is Baby Holly Marie?
Holly Marie Clouse is famously known as the daughter of Tina and Dean.
Back in 1981, she vanished alongside her parents and was never seen again.
However, in June 2022, the cold case group Identifiers International was able to locate Holly, who is now 42, and “alive and well,” according to Fox News.
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Holly’s location comes just months after her parents were identified, though questions still remain about what happened to her parents, and how she survived.
First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster told reporters that baby Holly was dropped off at a church in Arizona, by two barefoot women in white robes who said they were members of a “nomadic religious group” that ate only vegetables and shunned leather products, according to NBC News.
“The family that raised Holly are not suspects in this case,” Webster added.
Holly now resides in Oklahoma, but details surrounding her personal life remain unclear.
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How did the police find Baby Holly Marie?
At this time, investigators have not revealed how they were able to locate Holly.
In a press release, Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit that helped find Holly but did not provide any additional details surrounding her parent’s murder.
“I am extremely proud of the exceptional work done by my office’s newly formed Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit,” Paxton said, via PEOPLE.
“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.”
Holly’s biological paternal grandmother, Donna Casasanta, added: “I prayed for more than 40 years for answers and the Lord has revealed some of it… we have found Holly.
“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.”
At this time, Tina and Dean’s murder case remains unsolved, though prosecutors hope the newfound publicity will lead to answers.
What is genetic genealogy?
Technology and science have both evolved since the 1980s and now help police when investigating cold cases.
Genetic genealogy, which police used to identify Dean and Tina, is a new form of DNA testing that often helps create family histories.
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According to the Library of Congress, genetic genealogy uses DNA test results in combination with traditional genealogical methods to help identify the type of biological relationships between or among individuals.
Some of the advantages include the ability to extend research beyond paperwork of recent centuries, and to construct ancient pedigrees through molecular evolutionary studies, the Library of Congress adds.