Family History Detectives Launch Hope for Holly: Missing Daughter of Texas Murder Victims Sought, Inspires an Effort to Help Stolen Children

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Jan 21, 2022, 08:37 ET

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The recent identification of two 1981 Texas murder victims alerted law enforcement 41 years later to the fact that at the time of their deaths, they had a one-year-old daughter. Holly Marie Clouse hasn't been seen since sometime before January 1981 when her parents Dean and Tina Linn Clouse were found murdered in Houston.

1980 photo of Holly Clouse with her mother, Tina Gail Linn Clouse. Tina was murdered in Houston in 1981.

Holly Marie Clouse in a 1980 photo taken in Lewisville, Texas. If alive, Holly will turn 42 years old next week.

"After the story broke about Dean and Tina last week, the number of women who wrote to me hoping that they might be Holly has inspired her family and me to take action," says Peacock. "Their stories were all compelling and I didn't want to leave them hanging - even if they weren't Holly."

Family History Detectives^® has launched a special project in Holly's honor. The Hope for Holly Project will screen, DNA test, and help identify those with uncertain childhoods, including the women who have found hopeful connection to the 1981 story of Holly and her parents.

The acronym HOPE - Helping Other People Embrace - was coined by Holly's aunt, Theresa Welch, Dean Clouse's sister.

Of the word, 'embrace' Welch explains, "That's how I feel towards Holly now. I want so much to be able to embrace her and never let her go. And we want these other women who have questions to be able to embrace who they truly are as individuals with the help of DNA."

In an effort to help find her, Family History Detectives^® is the custodian of the AncestryDNA profiles of several of Holly's family members on both maternal and paternal sides. Key profiles have also been uploaded to GEDmatch and other public genealogical databases.

"We're chasing rainbows again trying to figure out if she's alive or not," Holly's grandmother, Donna Casasanta told KHOU's Xavier Walton of their ongoing family nightmare.

If still alive, Holly would be 42 years old this week.

If you are a woman between the ages of 40 and 44 who is not sure of your biological origins, or if you think you may recognize details in Holly's story, please reach out to us via our website or test yourself with AncestryDNA. Your family may be waiting to meet you," urges Peacock.

A GoFundMe campaign for the project has also been set up to help defray costs. A memorial gathering at Dean and Tina's graves is planned for early March.

"The fact that Holly was not found with her parents gives us hope that we might see her again," says Sherry Green, Tina Linn Clouse's sister and another of Holly's aunts. "I want to be able to tell her about her mother one day and how much she cared for her little girl."

For more information, licensable photographs, or to schedule family interviews:

Allison Peacock
FHD Forensics/Family History Detectives®
(512) 270-1301
[email protected]

Other Resources:
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Hotline: 1-800-THE-LOST (-843-5678)
Lewisville Police Department Tipline: 1-800-388-TIPS (-8477)

SOURCE FHD Forensics