'Baby Holly' found alive, 42 years after Florida couple was murdered in Texas

After more than four decades, a Florida family will be able to reconnect with a woman – known to them as Baby Holly – whose whereabouts were unknown 40 years ago after her parents were murdered.

After more than four decades, a Florida family will be able to reconnect with a woman – known to them as "Baby Holly" – whose whereabouts were unknown ever since the murder of her parents over 40 years ago.

On Thursday, the Texas Attorney General's office revealed that they had found "Baby Holly" – whose real name is Holly Marie Clouse – and that she is very much alive – and now 42 years old with five children.

Clouse's parents, Tina Gail Linn Clouse and Harold Dean Clouse Jr., were found dead in a wooded area in Texas. Her extended family knew she was a baby, but because she wasn't found with her parents' bodies, no one knew what happened to her or where she went – until now, officials said.

A lot of Holly’s biological family lives in Volusia County, including her grandmother who says she found out that Holly was alive and well just two days ago. "I was able to sleep a whole night’s sleep for the first time in 42 years," said Donna Casasanta.

She said that relief came after speaking with her granddaughter for the first time and seeing that she was okay.

Officials give update after 'Baby Holly' is found alive

WHAT HAPPENED TO BABY HOLLY?

Authorities said the last time Holly and her parents were seen by the family was in 1980, before the three moved away from Volusia County, Florida, and relocated to Texas where her father reportedly wanted to pursue carpentry work.

Soon after, the couple's car was returned to their family in Florida, who were then led to believe the couple had joined a religious group and no longer wanted contact with them.

In 1979, Holly's parents were brutally murdered. Their bodies were found two months later on Jan. 12, 1981, though their identities were not known until October 2021 using advanced DNA technology and genetic genealogy.

The murder of Holly's parents remains unsolved.

At a news conference Thursday in Texas, officials told reporters that two barefooted women dressed in white robes – who identified themselves as members of a Nomadic religious group – reportedly brought Baby Holly to a church in Yuma, Arizona, where she was taken care of, but the people who raised her are not considered suspects in the murders.

Law enforcement agencies from various states, including the Volusia County Sheriff's Office (VCSO) assisted in the case.

A spokesperson for the VCSO told FOX 35 News that a detective was brought into the investigation to help connect Holly's biological grandparents in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

"We never gave up!" Casasanta said. "We never gave up!"