An Entire Family Vanished On A Road Trip, Then Turned Up A Week Later In Various States Of Mental Distress
On Monday, August 29, 2016, an Australian family went on a road trip. After a week, the family members started turning up one by one in various states of mental distress. Police conducted an investigation, and two of the family members ended up in psychiatric care.
Overall, the Tromp family seemed pretty normal and consisted of 51-year-old Mark Tromp, his 53-year-old wife Jacoba, and their three adult children, 29-year-old Riana, 25-year-old Mitchell, and 22-year-old Ella. The family had established a successful farm and earth-moving business at their property in Silvan.
But suddenly, the family got into a car one day, fled the farm, and headed north. Police were called to the home to investigate their disappearance. They found credit cards, mobile phones, and passports that were left behind, so there was no way to track them.
Later, it was revealed that Mark and Jacoba had increasingly become more stressed and paranoid. They were convinced that someone was out for their blood and wanted to take their money.
Mitchell was the only one in the family who did not leave his phone behind. Unlike the rest of his family, he did not appear to believe that they were in some kind of danger.
He stated that he had gone along on the road trip to make sure his family would be safe, but his parents were growing more delusional each day, and it was hard to deal with.
At one point, they forced him to throw his phone out of the car window. Apparently, they thought it was being used to track them.
They drove in Ella’s silver SUV and reached the New South Wales town of Bathurst after the first day of the road trip. The next day, Mitchell left the family.
The remaining Tromps then headed to the Jenolan Caves, which was a popular tourist attraction. That was when Riana and Ella decided to leave their parents and stole a car to get home. They drove to the town of Goulburn and reported their parents missing.
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In Goulburn, the sisters split up at a gas station. Ella wanted to go home to feed her horses. She was the first to arrive back at the family farm, where she encountered the police. Mitchell got home by train the following morning.
Mitchell and Ella seemed to be fine, but Riana was in bad shape. In Goulburn, she had climbed into the back of a utility vehicle and was discovered by the driver after an hour of driving. He pulled over and found Riana in a catatonic state. She didn’t know where she was or what her name was.
Riana was taken to Goulburn Hospital and admitted to psychiatric care. For mental health reasons, she was spared charges over the stolen vehicle. However, Ella wasn’t.
As for Mark and Jacoba, they drove to Melbourne from the Jenolan Caves. From there, they were separated. Jacoba somehow headed north and was found wandering around in Yass in an agitated state. She was taken to a hospital and received mental health treatment with Riana.
Mark stayed in Wangaratta and was spotted fleeing from Ella’s car. He was discovered on the side of a road near the airport.
Mitchell and Ella were baffled by their parents’ behavior. Police do not think the family was ever actually under real threat.
The family had no diagnosed mental health problems, and there was no evidence of drug usage. They also did not have any debts or belong to any religious groups.
They may have been suffering from “folie a deux,” a rare psychological condition involving collective delusions shared by close-knit groups or individuals.
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