The Bizarre Tromp Family Road Trip
What happened to the Tromp Family?
By all accounts, the Tromp Family was your normal hard-working Australian family. Mark Tromp (51) and his wife Jacoba (53) ran a successful redcurrant farm and earth-moving business from their property in Silvan.
They had three children together, Riana (29), Mitchel (25), and Ella (22). And all three worked hard on their family's farm to help us out.
On Monday, August 29th, 2016, the entire Tromp Family inexplicably left their farm with little warning, got into their car, and headed north.
It appeared as though they were fleeing from something or someone. And their friends and family quickly became worried after not being able to contact them and phoned the police.
Upon arriving at the family home, police found the Tromp home in disarray. It seemed like they were looking for something inside of their financial records since they were found spread out inside the home. They had also left behind their passports, credit cards, and cell phones. It seemed like they were wanted to be untraceable, and took a cash-only trip. But nobody knew where they went or why.
Mitchell was the only one who brought a cell phone. But some 30km away from the home his family made him throw it out of the car window after apparently being convinced it was being used to track them.
They drove through the first day and night and reached the city of Bathurst, some 800km away. And it was there that at 7:00 am, Mitchell separated from the family.
Later that same morning the remaining 4 Tromp family members continued to drive, this time heading east. They were headed to the popular tourist spot, The Jenolan Caves.
Upon arriving at the caves, Riana and Ella decided to part from their parents as well and did just that by stealing a car. From there, the two sisters drive to the city of Goulburn and reported their parents missing.
In Goulburn, Riana and Ella, while at a gas station, decided to split up. Ella reportedly mentioned wanting to feed her horses, and the two separated from there.
After separating, Ella returned home and was the first family member to do so, and was greeted by the police upon her arrival. And Mitchell arrived next, the following morning.
The two appeared to be almost unaffected by the family's sudden mental health crisis. And appeared to be completely normal, apparently being just as perplexed about the trip as the rest of us.
Riana on the other hand was not, and was found in the back of a truck-bed by the driver almost an hour away. She was in a catatonic state and claimed to not know who or where she was. The frightened man called the police and she was taken to Goulburn hospital and was treated in the psychiatric ward.
And Then There Were Two
All that was left on the bizarre trip now was Mark and Jacoba Tromp. And as public interest grew in the case, a search of the interstates began in hopes of finding their car.
The pair drive back towards the Melbourne area from the Jenolan Caves, where after arriving in Wangaratta, over 600km away, they two separated.
After splitting up, Jacoba headed North again. Although it is still unclear how. And was found the next day wandering around Yass, some 350km away. And was reportedly in a very agitated state.
She was taken to a hospital for an evaluation and was eventually reunited with Riana in Goulburn Hospital at the psych unit. And both received mental health treatment there.
Mark Tromp had stayed behind in Wangaratta and was later spotted dangerously tailgating a young couple playing Pokémon Go at around 10 pm in the area. The man of the couple later reported that Mark was so close to him he could barely see his headlights anymore.
Eventually, the man pulled the car over, but Mark stopped as well. And eventually, he got out of the car and ran towards them, randomly stopping in the middle of the road and just stared at them. Before running off into a nearby park and vanishing.
Back at home, Ella and Mitchell made an emotional appearance on the news. They explained they were both baffled by their parents' strange behavior. And made an emotional appeal for their father to return home.
When finally after a 6-day ordeal, Mark Tromp was found by a road near the Wangaratta airport. He was evaluated by a mental health officer and was released to the care of his brother who was a police officer.
While being driven away Mark flashed his middle finger at the media. Although he later apologized for doing so in a statement where he thanked the community for their concern.
Police were never able to identify any threats against the Tromp Family. And the reason for this bizarre rod trip remains a mystery to this day. There was no evidence of drug use, and the family was not in a cult or religious group as some have suggested.
It seems as though the family suffered a breakdown and was overwhelmed by paranoia which was fueled by each other. And this is sometimes referred to as Folie à deux or shared delusional disorder. A condition affecting almost exclusively close families and couples.
Ella and Mitchell Tromp latest told the press they have never seen anything like this before. They explained it was hard to explain but they were for some reason in fear for their lives and decided to flee as a result.
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