Tromp Family - Australia's newest mystery

a reply to: Nyaghogghua

If that is the case ... toxicology tests will reveal any "assisted" psychosis. ( Mother and Daughter in Hospital )

It could have been something dished up to the family innocently , like fresh picked poorly selected mushrooms ...

There is much more to this story, yet to be revealed.

I live 1/2 hour away from Jenolan Caves so it's weirding me out a little lol.

My best guess, based on the available information, is that the parents were threatened by someone in regards to their family business. Perhaps a death threat by someone who gave them a loan, although that is pure speculation.

The stress of it upped their paranoia levels to the point where a family argument occurred and someone suggested the just jump in the car and go North to get away from the house and business and calm down. During the trip the paranoia from the parents intensified rather than calmed to the point where they made their son throw his phone out the window and later the children all cracked at the pressure of seeing their parents so bad. The kids flipped out and, not thinking clearly, decided to get home by any means necessary - including stealing a car.

I reckon the father has gone bush and if they don't find him soon they might not find him at all, or he'll top himself.

Thats just my theory anyway, I could be completely wrong lol. I'm half expecting a knock on the door in the middle of the night from the father, even though they reckon he's somewhere around Wangaratta.

a reply to: Kryties

Why was the Wife or Daughter found in Yass in such a state ?

That was after the Jenolan visit no ?

If so why go past Yass on the way to the Blue Mountains, then go back just to throw a cog ?

Too many questions without good answers atm...

Here is the latest news story:

www.couriermail.com.au... 73f3af4588002f9b21bce007d6

"Monbulk Police Sergeant Mark Knight, who is leading the search for Mark Tromp and knows the family personally, says the Tromps are not drug users or members of a church or cult. He said the family is not in debt and there is no standover man lurking in the shadows.

Sergeant Knight said when he checked their home after the first reports of Riana being found near Goulburn, the house was open and keys were in car ignitions, but there was no sign of any struggle.

“This is just a massive meltdown, I’m sure of it,” he told the Canberra Times. “Something triggered them.”

When approached by News.com.au about the possibility the family was suffering from folie a deux — or a “shared psychotic disorder” as the syndrome is now more commonly known — he said he was keen to learn more."

originally posted by: Timely
a reply to: Kryties

Why was the Wife or Daughter found in Yass in such a state ?

That was after the Jenolan visit no ?

If so why go past Yass on the way to the Blue Mountains, then go back just to throw a cog ?

Too many questions without good answers atm...

Yass is not far from Goulburn which I can get to through the back roads of Oberon and beyond. I recently drove down to Bega using that route, didn't have to traverse the Mountains at all. I drove straight past Jenolan Caves. If thats the route they took then it's on the way rather than being out of their way.

Jenolan isn't IN the Blue Mountains by the way, it's just past them after you go down the other side of the Mountains at Mt Victoria. Im at the bottom of Mt Victoria.

EDIT TO CLARIFY: I can drive to Yass through Goulburn by using the back roads that go past Jenolan Caves. I'm sure they took this route also both to AND from Jenolan. Bathurst is an hour up the highway further north from Jenolan. The only "doubling back" they would have done is the Jenolan to Bathurst bit.

a reply to: bellagirl

Link fixed: couriermail.com.au....

a reply to: bellagirl

Ed: Saw Kryties fix !

That is a great update !

a reply to: Kryties

Nice part of the "other side " of the Mountains ... 😎

Little Hartley is very picturesque ... as you wait to gun it at the bottom of Mt. Vic ... lol !

Something about it reminds me of what happened to those skiers in Russia.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

What causes group madness?

originally posted by: Timely
a reply to: Kryties

Nice part of the "other side " of the Mountains ... 😎

Little Hartley is very picturesque ... as you wait to gun it at the bottom of Mt. Vic ... lol !

Hehe I figured someone would know what I meant by "bottom of Mt Victoria". Yeah Little Hartley is beautiful, particularly the farm we live on. Bigfoot and UFO territory also, as an added bonus!

Don't worry about the radar bridge at the bottom of the hill btw unless you're a truckie, it's only for "Average Speed" and if it measured cars too I would have been fined a thousand times over by now lol. Only the top one is for all vehicles.

Good news, as they have found the Father alive.

Still no word on what has happened, but this comment from the police is interesting
"Police said the circumstances around the case were unusual and one officer described it as "the most bizarre case in 30 years"

Hope we get the full details

I just read that too, father found. In my newspaper they were talking about maybe group schizophrenia or that fancy french term. Tis very interesting whatever. Keep the updates coming.a reply to: kangawoo

a reply to: Xarian6

The most likely explanation is Mr Tromp is the patriarch of the family and they follow him. It explains why adult children leave their lives and follow him into the bush.

An influence like that can still become mentally ill and under the spell of paranoid delusions. His family took him on faith and believed his ideas of people out to get them. They took his fears at face value because it'd be disrespectful to think otherwise and he was probably a solid rock all their lives. His panic transferred to them and they fled.

Doesn't mean he wasn't threatened at all; maybe he was and it triggered this apparent tailspin into chaos.

The fly in the ointment of what I've suggested is the daughter being catatonic in the back of the truck.

a reply to: Cloudbuster

Folie à deux

originally posted by: Kryties
a reply to: bellagirl

Link fixed: couriermail.com.au....

thanks mate

It seems like they either witnessed, or thought they witnessed something that scared the absolute bejeebers out of them.
The following is a report about the one daughter that was found in the back of a ute.

"Riana Tromp (the daughter) was found in the back seat of Keith Whittaker's ute, while he was driving, after feeling a kick to the back of the drivers seat.

He pulled over and called police.

"Until the police arrived, she mostly sat and stared straight ahead as if she was catatonic. They arrived about an hour later and took her back to Goulburn Police Station,"

I am fascinated by this story. Shared psychosis is a good explanation but doesn't really explain the very sudden departure ( I mean who leaves their keys in their car ignition?) why did they suddenly all decide to go together? They were absolutely terrified and just fled. It doesn't really explain the catatonic states both females were found in....it really does sound like drugs. It couldn't be mushroom or fungal poisoning or there would be physical symptoms like vomiting. The father obviously thought someone was really trying to kill them.....perhaps he does have late onset schizophrenia, had been unwell but coping for an extended period and was so convincing that he managed to bring others into his beliefs, and then snapped....but why the catatonic states the women were in? Maybe something seeped into the water supply, mercury maybe?

My initial reaction to this bizarre and interesting story was that it is ergot poisoning, but I'm not sure the hallucinogenic effects would last that long. Hopefully we'll get to the bottom of it all soon.

After having read about the father being found after wandering for five days obviously psychotic, I am really now starting to think ice was involved somehow. You never know...a lot of people who you would never think are ice users can be...maybe they all thought they'd try some together as a family and went on a bad trip? Maybe it was a very strong batch, it would explain the obsessive sorting through documents, the states the females were found in, the paranoia, the very sudden breakdown...the daughter stealing a car....but now being okay. I think as a family they have used drugs or smoked together over the weekend and that's why all this presented on a Monday.

Apparently drugs aren't involved, reading from previous posts in this thread. The son and eldest daughter I believe recently released a statement saying that they are glad that their father is home safe. They also say that their parents were under a lot of pressure and there were multiple reasons why this incident occurred but the son couldn't say what they were because he wasn't certain what they were. Seems a bit strange to me, I'm personally leaning towards paranormal due to the police stating that the family wasn't involved in drugs.

good to see this end, and without further tragedy.

We'll probably never know the reasons, and i respect that.. mainly due to the fact it broke 2 minds already.
Maybe, a few years from now, when folks no longer care.. we'll read about it and shake our heads or deliberate further on life's little mystery's... but for now it's basically over.

Media want's it classified as a "delusional stress meltdown".. and they will have their outcome.
I just hope that family heals now.

EDIT: I'd like to add.. having just read the latest "comments" on other media.. just how awful some can be.. there's some form of toxic backlash going on now and that sickens me.. have we no heart? 2 days ago we were concerned.. now every toxic troll has pounced calling the family all sorts of names because they wont "tell the full story".. "must be lying".. "my tax money was wasted on this" and it gets a lot worse..

Sickening to see hate come from this.. it's as if that's all those folks have left is hate.