Baby Holly Speaks Out After Being Missing for 40 Years: Everything to Know Ahead of ’20/20’ Special
The woman at the center of a decades-long search has been identified, and she’s sitting down for her first interview in a ’20/20′ special.
Holly Marie Clouse was at the center of a nationwide search, after the murders of her parents, Dean and Tina Clouse, in 1980. The woman, who had been known as “Baby Holly” since her disappearance, was located in June 2022, and her first-ever television interview with David Muir on 20/20 will be televised on Friday, November 3 at 9 p.m. ET. A very brief clip of her interview was shown in the preview, as she sat down with Muir. Ahead of her interview, here’s everything you need to know about “Baby Holly.”
The Murders of Dean and Tina Clouse
Holly was the daughter of Harold Dean Clouse Jr. and Tina Clouse. Dean and Tina were teenagers when they met and got married in 1979, and they had Holly in January 1980. The family moved from Florida to Lewisville, Texas that summer, and regularly kept in touch with family. In October 1980, the two of them stopped writing to their families back home, per People.
On January 12, 1981, two decaying bodies were found in a swampy area of Harris County, Texas. They were later revealed to be Dean and Tina. It was believed that Tina had been strangled and Dean had been beaten to death. At the time that their bodies were found, authorities were not able to identify either victim, and their identities remained a mystery until their remains were exhumed in 2011 to have their DNA tested. They were identified as the Clouses in 2020. Their identities were released to the public in January 2021. No arrests have been made since the initial discovery nor since they were identified.
Search for Baby Holly
Once their identities were discovered, it was revealed that the couple had a baby daughter, Holly. No children’s remains were found at the scene along with her parents’ bodies. Numerous theories surrounding what could’ve happened to Baby Holly had sprung up amid the investigation, but most were proven to be false. A campaign began to use DNA testing to discover what eventually happened to Baby Holly, per the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children. Now that she’s been found, Holly has praised the results of DNA testing. “DNA and genealogy have been a miracle to me, a miracle I didn’t even know was possible,” she told NCMEC
Baby Holly Found
Holly was found in June 2022, over 40 years after her parents’ bodies were discovered. She was revealed to be Holly Miller. Holly was put in contact with her biological family, per CNN. While many details about her life were not revealed, it was said that she had lived a good life and was cared for.
While some details about Baby Holly are still confusing, it was revealed that the infant was taken to a church by members of a religious group and eventually put up for adoption, according to KHOU. “Baby Holly was left at a church in Arizona and raised by a family who had nothing to do with her disappearance,” First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster said at the time. “Two women who identified themselves as members of a nomadic religious group brought Holly to the church. They were wearing white robes and were barefoot.”
The 20/20 interview will undoubtedly shed new light on Baby Holly’s life and upbringing. While the child’s identity has been discovered, her parents’ murders are still an active investigation.