Tina Linn Clouse

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Harris County Sheriffs Office (TX)

Offense Location:

Houston, Texas

Related Cases:

Harold Dean Clouse

Summary:

In 1981, the remains of a young couple were found in a woodland area on the outskirts of Houston, after a dog emerged with a partially decomposed human arm. The victims remained unidentified until 2021 when a team of genetic genealogists named them as Harold ‘Dean’ Clouse and his wife Tina, who had moved to Texas from Florida for work. Disappeared- October 27, 1980 Discovered- January 12, 1981 Location - Houston, Texas Identified - January 11, 2022

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

Harold Dean Clouse Jr. and Tina Linn Clouse, formerly known as the Harris County Does, were a pair of formerly unidentified murder victims found outside of Houston, Texas in January, 1981. After moving in the summer of 1980 with their infant daughter, Holly Marie, from Volusia County, Florida to Lewisville, Texas, the Clouse's stopped contacting their families in October, 1980. Their remains were found in a wooded area north of Houston on January 12, 1981. The bodies were found within feet of each other, both significantly decomposed, with a post-mortem interval of approximately two months. Dean Clouse had been bound and beaten to death, and Tina Clouse was strangled. Holly Marie’s remains were not found with or near her parents' remains.

Additional Details:

The bodies of Dean and Tina Clouse were found in the woods off Wallisville Road in Houston, Texas on January 14, 1981. A few weeks earlier, their infant daughter, Holly Marie was left at a church in Yuma, Arizona. Known as “The Harris County Does” for more than 40 years, they were finally identified by genetic genealogy in 2021.

Case Last Updated:

May 15, 2026