The children of the Tromp family, who went missing in a strange off-grid family trip five days ago, just want their lives to be “normal” again.
Mitchell and Ella Tromp are now longing for their family to be together again after their parents, Mark Tromp, 51, and Jacoba Tromp, 53, fled with them, along with their sister, Riana, who is in a mental health care, to New South Wales after they reportedly became overwhelmed by paranoia and fear. Police said that Mr Tromp and his wife drove off on Monday, leaving passports, credit cards and many of their mobile phones behind.
Authorities had been searching for Mr Tromp since Tuesday, after the Tromp family was reported missing and police found their Silvan home unlocked and abandoned.
The family split up and over the past five days, one-by-one, each member has managed to re-appear alive, “safe and well”.
Mitchell said he felt responsible to flee with the rest of his family and felt he should have stayed with them longer. “I didn’t feel in danger. But I had to go with the family because I wanted to see where they were going,” he told Sky News, adding that the situation is “hard to explain” and “very confusing”.
Ella admitted she is confused about the strange events that happened and claimed she returned to the family’s berry farm to feed her horses. “More than anything we’re just happy that Dad is alive and he’s going to come back home, all of the family is going to come back home, and we can get back to normal,” she said. She also hoped her sister, Riana would be released from mental health care soon.
The father, Mr Tromp, was the last of the family to be found after he was seen on the outskirts of Wangaratta on Saturday, about 5.50pm. He was taken to Wangaratta Police Station and is expected to undergo a mental health assessment.
The particular “road trip” is now subject to a police investigation.
Authorities had been searching for Mr Tromp since Tuesday, after the Tromp family was reported missing and police found their Silvan home unlocked and abandoned.
By Tuesday morning, Mitchell left the group near Bathurst and made his way to Melbourne via Sydney, while Ella and Riana left their parents at Jenolan caves and went to Goulburn, where they separated — Riana was found “catatonic” hiding in the back of a local man’s ute and Ella drove herself back to Melbourne.
Jacoba was found on Thursday in Yass Hospital and has since been transferred to Goulburn Hospital where Riana is also being treated.
Police say both women are in a fragile mental state.
However, police have now charged Ella with theft of a motor vehicle and possessing the proceeds of a crime [the car] on August 30 in Victoria. She was bailed to appear at Ringwood Magistrates Court on April 19, 2017.
Meanwhile, Riana was also charged with theft of motor vehicle, but the charge has since been dismissed under section 33 of the Mental Health Act of NSW.
It was believed that the sisters had taken the car after they fled their parents at the Jenolan Caves. Police said that the pair left Jenolan Caves in a car they neither hired nor owned.
Source: Au.news.yahoo.com and News.com.au
