Tromp family: Paranoid missing dad planned to flee country with wife and adult children

Mark Tromp planned to flee the country with wife Jacoba, and their adult children, out of “fear for their lives”. Son, Mitchell, said his missing dad thought someone was after him, and they had sorted through years of business documents at their farm home.

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THE Tromp family was planning to flee the country out of “fear for their lives” after sorting through years of business documents relating to their berry farm in Silvan.

Victorian police are sorting through “piles and piles” of documents stacked throughout the family’s home and found passports for every member of the family alongside credit cards.

“The piles were very ordered and they were clearly looking for something,” one officer told The Daily Telegraph.

Mark Tromp still hasn’t been located. Picture: AAP Image/Victoria Police

Jacoba Tromp was found yesterday at Yass Hospital. Picture: AAP Image/Victoria Police

Mitchell and Ella Tromp talk to the media outside Monbulk Police Station yesterday. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

“The children honestly did not know what was going on because their parents run the business side of things but they trusted that their parent’s fears were real.

“In their delusional state, the entire family was planning on going overseas with the passport but they decided against it saying ‘passports can be tracked’.

“They thought the safer option would be going into a place where technology cannot reach them.

The investigator confirmed there were no intruders at the farm in the lead-up to the family fleeing on Monday.

“No one was in the house,” he said.

Police say the huge media interest in the case has led to multiple sightings of Mr Tromp in Victoria and NSW. Picture: Ray Strange.

How the mystery trip unfolded.

“It looks bad because some papers are scattered over the kitchen bench and the floor but most of the piles are systematically stacked. Kind of like they are looking for something.

“We do not know what that something is because obviously Mark is missing and his wife is very frail.

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“What we do know if their fears were not justified and there was not some stand over man intimidating them in person on Monday.”

Police have confirmed the documents relate to the financial side of their farm’s operation.

The family is believed to have driven to Bathurst and then the Jenolan Caves area in NSW, arriving in the early hours on Tuesday.

The Daily Telegraph understand the children followed their parents until they realised their mental states may have been compromised.

After the parents drove to Wangaratta Mrs Tromp then took public transport to Yass where she attempted to book into a motel.

She was helped by a member of the public who took her to Yass Hospital.

Police said the woman walked into the hospital about midday. Hospital staff recognised the woman and called police.

Piles of papers relating to the family farm were found in their Silvan property. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

The Tromps, pictured with daughter Ella, run a berry farm in Victoria.

Mitchell Tromp this morning confirmed his dad thought someone was after him and said he had never seen his parents act like this before.

“He’s scared that people are after him, he’s not in a good state of mind,” he said on The Today Show.

“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.”

Police have also reported several sightings of Mark Tromp in both NSW and Victoria but say the details are “vague” at best.

The overwhelming media attention is leading to lots of false reports which is clogging up the investigation.

THE FAMILY’S DREAM HOME

Mark Tromp bought his “dream home” in 2007 on the corner of Chapman Rd in country Victoria with plans to turn it into a thriving berry farm.

He first checked it out during an auction in June where he watched it fail to sell at its listed price of $810,000.

He just took notes from a distance without making a bid and returned five days later when the owners were panicking to knock $30,000 off the asking price.

Nearly ten years later, the now established redcurrant farm is at the centre of the father’s mysterious disappearance and the family’s bizarre cross-country breakdown.

Taryn Bock, the woman who sold them the farm, said Mark’s wife Jacoba was “the brains of the operation”.

She handled the business side while Mark and teenage son Mitch worked the field.

The Silvan property was Mark Tromp’s dream home. Picture: Supplied

She said both parents were “astute businessmen” who had a “large property portfolio” who appeared to be hard working ethical people.

“Their daughters were into horses and photography and their son Mitch was a hard worker who always helped Mark,” she said.

“Jacoba really ran the business, she was a very clever woman whenever I dealt with her professionally and they were both incredibly astute businessmen.

“I didn’t get any indication they were in financial difficulty at any stage and they showed me a very impressive property portfolio.

“Never was there any suggestion they would need to sell one property to pay for the farm.

“They wanted to move in and start a berry farm. I told them how hard it would be to turn the place into a berry farm but they seemed excited at the challenge.”

Fast-forward a decade and the Tromp family’s kitchen has been turned into a crime scene with forensic investigators analysing stacks of documents relating to the business.

After watching it fail to sell at auction, Mr Tromp came back with an offer days later. Picture: Supplied

They found years of financial documents strewn across the floor and passports and credit cards stacked on the benchtop.

Police do not yet know what sparked the breakdown but are certain it is linked to the piles of paper.

They also believe the family were preparing to flee the country from an “unknown threat which cannot be substantiated”.

Instead of heading overseas, they decided the Australian outback would be a better place to hide.

Property searches undergone by the Daily telegraph reveal every family member is involved in the business, including the three adult children Ella, Mitch and Riana.

There are no clear bankruptcy or credit alerts associated with the business.

Mark is now the only family member missing and police hold “grave concerns” he will never be found.