This story was originally published on news.com.au and has been republished here with permission.
Riana Tromp has spoken for the first time about what led her family on a bizarre road trip last year that fuelled a massive manhunt.
In an interview with Woman’s Day, Ms Tromp opens up about the strange series of events that led to her family becoming a national sensation.
Ms Tromp vanished along with her parents Mark and Jacoba Tromp in August last year during an infamous road trip with siblings Ella, 22 and Mitchell, 25.
Her father drove the family from their berry farm at Silvan, east of Melbourne, across the NSW border, stopping at Bathurst and Jenolan Caves.
Her father was later found wandering along on a Wangaratta road after bolting from the car the family were travelling in, while Ms Tromp was found in the back of a stranger’s ute in a catatonic state.
Her mother was found in an “agitated state” in the NSW town of Yass and placed under psychiatric care. Sister Ella allegedly stole a car and drove back to the family home, while brother Mitch took a train back to Melbourne.
Mitchell and Ella Tromp hold a press conference on a property in Silvan after news that their missing father Mark Tromp was found near Wangaratta. Picture: David Crosling Source: News Corp Australia
“We didn’t want to be famous”
“We are all very embarrassed,” Ms Tromp told Women’s Day. “We didn’t want to be famous, that’s for famous people.”
Ms Tromp said her father had been suffering from a mental breakdown, which she now realises had been building for some time.
She said part of the reason he decided to leave the farm was because he felt like he was in danger, but also because he wanted to spend time as a family.
At the time there was speculation the Tromp family was suffering from a rare psychiatric condition known as folie à deux also known as the “madness of two” which almost always occurs in close-knit families.
In the interview Ms Tromp said she did start believing her father’s claims that the family were in danger. She said she believes it was the build up of stress that caused the incident.
“You have a few things and they do build up — you can get sick in some way,” she said.
Father Mark Tromp thought someone was out to get him and his family. Source: Supplied.
Moving on
The family is slowly coming to terms with what happened with help from health professionals and good friends. Brother Mitchell Tromp previously told police and reporters that the family fled after their parents became convinced somebody was out to get them.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s really hard to explain or put a word on it but they were just fearing for their lives and then they decided to flee,” he said.
So convinced were Mr and Mrs Tromp that their lives were in danger that they insisted all phones and tablets be left at home, leaving behind their home in a chaotic state with doors unlocked, car keys hanging in ignitions and credit cards, passports and mobile phones strewn around the property.
