If you’re not from Australia, then you’re probably unaware of the debacle that’s going down with the Tromp family. But if you frequently ponder the rabbit hole that is the internet (like me), then you might know a little bit about their story.
At the end of August Mark and Jacoba Tromp left their farm in Victoria, Australia with their three adult kids. Seems like a completely normal vacation, right?
Wrong.
This “family vacation” was really about Mark and Jacoba trying to escape. It's not exactly clear why, but it seems that the couple was paranoid that there was someone watching them, and they attempted to flee. The police reported that when they searched the house, they found organized piles of paperwork; the house was left unlocked and the keys were in the ignitions of all the cars.
The family made their way to Bathurst, where their middle child Mitchell departed and look a train, where he arrived in Melbourne the next day. The parents and other two children continued on their escape path. The two daughters, Riana and Ella, left their parents in Goulburn. It is believed that Ella stole a car (and has been charged for stealing said car) and drove back to Melbourne, meeting up with Mitchell. The pair reported their parents missing, and the search party began. There have been different reports on how Riana was found: One report says she was found running down a highway, while another says she was found in the back of a man’s truck. Either way, she’s currently in the hospital with questionable mental health status. By the way, all of these events happened between Monday and Wednesday.
On Wednesday it was said that Jacoba split from her husband in Wangaratta, and was later found wandering in a town called Yass. She was transported to the hospital where doctors confirmed that her mental health also doesn’t look too stable at the moment. Mark was found in Wangaratta on Saturday, and is now being taken care of by relatives.
Did any of that make sense? If not, it’s understandable, because all of the reports on it are difficult to process. The whole thing is bizarre, as it seems there was no real reason besides paranoia for the family to flee.
It’s speculated that this condition the family is suffering from is called “folie à deux,” meaning “delusion of two.” It’s said that this happens in close knit families; they begin supporting the delusions of each other, until it is unknown who started it. People close to the family don’t believe that they had any reason to be paranoid, making the whole situation even more confusing.
Police in Australia are still trying to unravel the mystery themselves, so keep a close watch on their news stations to see how it unfolds. What do you think happened to the Tromps? Was it truly a case of “folie à deux,” or do you think the family had a reason to flee?
