Investigators say Baby Holly, who was found alive more than 40 years after her parents were killed, was handed over to an Arizona church by women members of a nomadic religious group. Texas officials have released unusual information following the identification of a woman who went missing as an infant when her parents were killed in 1980. The young woman went missing along with her parents, Tina Gail Linn Clouse and Harold Dean Clouse Jr., who were last heard from relatives in October 1980. Their fate remained a mystery until the beginning of the year, when genealogists identified the remains. John and Jane Doe, found in 1981 in a wooded area near Houston, as a couple. They were found to have been killed – but no baby remains were found along or near the bodies. Nobody knew what had happened to Baby Holly. Until this week, when investigators located the adult woman in Oklahoma and helped her reunite with her family. The Texas Attorney General’s Office did not receive any questions during a press conference Thursday, citing an ongoing criminal investigation into the case. But they asked the public for any information that could help solve the Clouses’ murders and clear up Baby Holly’s journey. The researchers shared the few details they had. The Cold Case and Missing Persons unit, set up last year by Texas Attorney General Kenneth Paxton, began taking on cases “in December 2021. This case came as soon as we started taking cases,” the Assistant Attorney General said Thursday. Brent Webster. “Baby Holly was left in a church in Arizona and taken into their care … The family that raised Holly is not a suspect in this case. Two women who identified themselves as members of a nomadic religious group brought Holly to church. They wore white robes and were barefoot. “ They said they were members of a religious group that believed in “the separation of men and women, practiced vegetarianism and did not use or wear leather goods.” The story goes on The women “showed that they had given a baby before, in a washing machine. “This particular group is believed to have traveled to the southwestern United States, including Arizona, California and possibly Texas. “There were views of this religious group around Yuma, Arizona in the early 1980s. Female members would look around the city for food.” In late December 1980 or early January 1981, the Clouses’ relatives received a phone call from someone who identified himself as “Sister Susan” – who explained that he was calling from Los Angeles, California and wanted to return Tina and Dean’s car to the family. their”. said Mr. Webster. He further added that Tina and Dean had joined their religious group and no longer wanted to have contact with their families. They also gave all their belongings. “ Mr Webster said the woman had asked for money in exchange for the car’s return. the family agreed, but contacted local authorities. The relatives of the missing couple organized a meeting with “Sister Susan” at the Daytona Racecourse in Florida. They met two or three women and “probably a man,” Webster said. individuals also appeared to be members of the religious group. Authorities “reportedly arrested the women, but no police record has been found so far,” said Webster, a situation not uncommon in such an old case. The returned car belonged to the mother of the missing person. described as a two-door, burgundy red AMC Concord of 1978, said Webster. He added that authorities believed the couple had “probably been murdered in December 1980 or early January 1981”. “If you have any information about these killings, we ask you to come forward,” Webster said. “Even if it is information that may not be concrete evidence, we need to find pieces of the puzzle to solve this crime.”
