Advertisement

Victorian woman found, husband still missing

Police found missing man Mark Tromp, pictured with daughter Ella.

Police found missing man Mark Tromp, pictured with daughter Ella. Photo: Facebook

Police are continuing their search for missing Victorian man Mark Tromp after his wife Jacoba was found safe in a country hospital.

In an increasingly bizarre missing persons case, it is believed a “paranoid” Mr Tromp, 51, fled police in Wangaratta on Wednesday night after his car was stopped.

Mark and Jacoba Tromp from Silvan, east of Melbourne, left their home with their three adult children to go on a trip on Monday.

The couple separated from their children, who did not want to continue with the holiday, at the Jenolan Caves area of the New South Wales central tablelands and were reported missing on Tuesday.

A member of the public found Ms Tromp, 53, on Thursday morning and took her to Yass hospital in regional NSW where she has been assessed for stress-related health concerns.

Police believe Mr Tromp is in north-east Victoria after the car the family was travelling in was pulled over at Wangaratta on Wednesday night.

The discovery came after a motorist noticed a car following him and his girlfriend around the streets of Wangaratta just before 10pm.

When the grey Peugeot station wagon – registered to the Tromps – was stopped by police, the driver, believed to be Mr Tromp, ran away into nearby Merriwa Park.

Wangaratta police, with the assistance of the Victoria Police Dog Squad, searched the park overnight.

https://twitter.com/ABCDriveVIC/status/771243579620458496

Police, meanwhile, have spoken with Mrs Tromp at hospital and say she is uninjured.

“She’s presented herself at the Yass hospital, she is undergoing medical examination,” Sergeant Mike Knight of Victoria Police told media.

After leaving their parents, all three of the Tromp’s children – son Mitchell and daughters Riana and Ella – made their separate ways to return to Melbourne.

One daughter has been hospitalised in Goulburn with stress-related health issues.

Family under stress, son says

Mitchell Tromp said the family – who operate a redcurrant farm in Silvan – were under stress and “fleeing something”.

He said the couple were paranoid just before they disappeared.

Jacoba Tromp

Jacoba Tromp was found in a stressed state and hospitalised.

“It was like a movie, I’ve never seen anyone act like this,” he said.

“It was a build-up of different, normal everyday events, pressure and it slowly got worse as the days went by.”

Mitchell was the only one to bring a mobile phone on the trip and at some point it was thrown out of the car to “ease tensions” in the family group, Sergeant Mark Knight told reporters.

Mitchell said his parents’ behaviour was out of character and he wanted to see his father return home.

“I really want my Dad to be found, if everyone out there can keep an eye out for him,” he said.

car 2

The Tromp’s grey Peugot. Photo: NSW Police

“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.”

Sergeant Knight has described the incident as “the most bizarre case in 30 years”.

He said when he went to the family’s home on Tuesday he found the couple’s personal possessions such as bank cards and mobile phones and paperwork all over the house.

“This is a really unusual case,” he said.

“We know the family was obviously traumatised by something. We didn’t know what it was.”

– with ABC

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.