In addition to increased sharing of DNA access with law enforcement, making a dent in the cold case epidemic in this country requires public support for the critical funding required for DNA testing. Please help us help them.
#Genealogy4Justice
I wanted to take a moment and share a story that has touched me. This relates to a very close friend of mine who I worked alongside at the Allison Transmission distributor in Philadelphia for nearly 15 years, Les Linn.
Les’ sister, Tina, and her husband Dean were found murdered in Houston, Texas back in January, 1981. They were officially a John and Jane Doe for 40 years until their remains were positively identified in 2021 through the hard work of multiple agencies and the use of advanced genealogy and DNA testing.
Tina Linn Clouse was murdered in Texas in late 1980 and remained unidentified for over 40 years. Private funding allowed her to be identified using genetic genealogy in 2021. As a result, her missing daughter, Holly was reunited with surviving family members just 8 months later.
Once Dean and Tina were positively identified, the attention turned to the search for the then infant daughter of the newlywed couple. Holly Marie Clouse was found alive and well with a family of her own in June of this year. An in-person reunion between all the family members is scheduled soon in Florida and we are very excited for all the family members involved.
The Linn and Clouse families have created the Dean and Tina Linn Clouse Memorial Fund to enable forensic and DNA testing to continue for other cold cases and provide some hope for other families. There are about 4400 unidentified bodies found each year, all of whom have families that are certainly going through the same pains as the Linn and Clouse families have.
After hearing about my friend’s sister, I felt such a calling to help this cause that I challenged my customers, vendors, and competitors to run similar donation campaigns in an email last spring.
How many other families can we bring some measure of closure to?
How many more Hollys are out there waiting to be found? My company has donated regularly to this campaign. After my initial donation, we pledged to make monthly donations of 10% on our used parts sales made through the rest of 2022.
I continue to challenge individuals and business owners alike. Please join me in the revolution to bring closure to families of decades old cold cases.
A WIDOWED MOTHER’S TEARS
The mother of our Advisory Board member, Debbie Clouse Brooks and murder victim Dean Clouse, Donna Casasanta is a tireless advocate for justice for Dean and Tina, as well as fundraising for unidentified remains cases. The 81 year-old single mother of six, grandmother and great grandmother just never stops.
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