Police fear for missing father Mark Tromp and distressed mother Jacoba
THE SON of a man still missing after a bizarre family road trip has said his father had never acted like this and had run because he was terrified he was being pursued.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE SON of a man still missing after a bizarre family road trip has said this morning his father was scared people were after him.
Authorities are still searching for Victorian father Mark Tromp, who left his rural property outside Melbourne with his wife Jacoba and their three adult children early Monday morning.
The family drove north towards Sydney in Ella’s silver Peugeot, eventually heading to Bathurst and then on to Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains.
Looking tired and distraught, son Mitchell told The Today Show his father was worried he was being pursued.
“He’s scared that people are after him, he’s not in a good state of mind,” he said.
“It’s nothing I’ve ever dealt with before but I’ve had a lot of family support around me lately and hopefully some good comes out of this and my dad comes home and be safe and well.”
The 25-year-old yesterday said he had been shocked by his mum and dad’s behaviour on the mystery trip.
“I’ve never seen my parents - or anyone at all - go to this extreme,” he said.
“He’s not dangerous, he’s my mate, he’s my father. I love him, I just want someone to find him so we can bring him home.”
The children separated from their parents on Tuesday as Mark and Jacoba’s fragile mental condition unravelled.
The couple’s daughter Ella said yesterday that “pressure” had started to build back at the family’s berry farm at Silvan, east of Melbourne.
“(It was) just the general stress of general life became a bit too much,” she said.
Police said last night they believe the couple became paranoid and feared their lives were in danger.
They then decided on a whim to take off in their daughter’s car with their three children in tow.
“It was a build-up of different, normal everyday events — just pressure — and it slowly got worse as the days went by,” Mr Tromp said.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s really hard to explain or put a word on it but they were just fearing for their lives and then they decided to flee.”
Mr Tromp said his parents appeared to become increasingly paranoid in the hours before he and siblings Ella, 22, and Riana, 29, separated from them on Tuesday.
“I’ve never seen my parents or anyone go to this extreme,” he said.
The children reported their parents missing later that day after driving to Goulburn police station, but they too separated, with Riana found alone by the side of the road and taken to hospital.
Police launched a search for the parents shortly afterwards, with the strongest lead a report of the couple’s silver Peugeot being spotted late Wednesday night at Wangaratta, back across the Victorian border.
A witness saw a man — believed to be the older Mr Tromp — run from the driver’s side of the vehicle before fleeing into a nearby park. Police believe he may be in hiding.
In another surprising development yesterday, Mrs Tromp turned up at a hospital in Yass about noon after a passer-by noticed her walking around the town in an agitated state.
Staff recognised her from media reports about her disappearance and called police.
Sergeant Mark Knight said doctors at the hospital had assessed Mrs Tromp but her mental health “wasn’t of a good standard”.
He added it was the most baffling case he had dealt with in more than 30 years on the force.
Last night Mrs Tromp was picked up from the hospital in a blue car with Victorian numberplates. It’s understood she was moved to a mental health facility for treatment.
Police believe Mr Tromp separated from his wife sometime before Wednesday night and might be taking measures not to be found.
Mitchell Tromp said he just wanted his dad home safe: “He’s not dangerous. He’s my mate, my father. I love him.’’
Investigators are hoping Mrs Tromp, 51, will shed more light on how she came to be separated from her husband, 53, and what led to them making such a dramatic exit from their normal lives at home.
This week’s events are a far cry from the family’s red currant farm, described on its own website as a “lovely, tranquil property”.
Police said the Tromps left home on Monday morning without locking any doors.
Mobile phones and bank cards were left behind, as were a trail of business documents strewn throughout the house.
Mr Tromp’s mother, Wilma, made a heartfelt plea for her son to come forward: “Like any mother would say: come home, we love you.’’
Mr Tromp is described as being caucasian, about 185cm tall, with dark brown crew-cut hair, a clean-shaven face and brown eyes.
Anyone with any information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Huge queues as monster blackout pushes Broken Hill to brink
Schools have been closed, mine workers stood down and the local hospital shifted to emergency mode as power starts to come back online in the outback city.
Elite college students in alleged ‘racial’ tiff at iconic Sydney venue
An investigation is underway at one of the University of Sydney’s prestigious residential colleges into an alleged after-party ‘incident’ with racial overtones at the Lansdowne Hotel that later saw police called to the venue.