Australia, August 29, 2016. Believing that their lives are in danger, a family of five abruptly abandons their home and embark on an off-the grid road trip. Their journey puts strains on them they didn’t expect with each of them becoming deluded and ending up parting ways.

The Tromp Family
(in order from left to right, Riana, Mark, Jacoba, Mitchell, Ella)

Sudden Off-Grid Roadtrip

On Monday, August 29, 2016, the Tromp family decided to abandon their farm in Victoria. Parents Mark (51) and Jacoba (53) Tromp went on a sudden roadtrip to the Jenolan Caves in New South Wales with their three children, Ella (22), Mitchell (25) and Riana (29). Without any bank cards or mobile phones, the family fled town in their family station wagon, going as far as even leaving the door to their home unlocked.

Along the way, Mitchell was found to secretly have brought a mobile phone with him despite his parents insisting not to. Since Mark and Jacoba were convinced that their lives were in danger, they urged Mitchell to toss it out the window, which he did. It was later found east of Melbourne. The next morning, on August 30, at Bathurst, Mitchell left the group due to his parent’s delusional behavior and took a train to Sydney and then Melbourne. The rest of the family continued their journey to the Jenolan Caves.

The family’s farmhouse from a bird’s point of view

On the same day, the two sisters left their parents and allegedly stole a utility truck. They then separated in Goulburn and both went their own ways. While Ella drove home in the stolen vehicle, Riana wandered around and was later found in a catatonic state hiding in the back of a local’s truck. As a result, she was taken to a mental hospital to get treatment. At the same time, police visited the family farm after Mark and Jacoba had been reported missing by their own two daughters earlier.

On Wednesday, August 31, Ella is the first one to arrive home. Then followed Mitchell. Both siblings were met by police when they arrived. That same day, Mark and Jacoba split ways, with the former travelling by car. Later, officers spotted the family station wagon in Victoria’s north east. A man, assumed to have been Mark, was seen fleeing the vehicle and running into a nearby park. However, he was not found. Meanwhile, Jacoba had headed west on foot before eventually boarding a bus to Yass.

On September 1, Jacoba is found in a confused state in Yass. Like her oldest daughter, she was taken to a local hospital to get treatment. A day later, she was transferred to Goulburn hospital where Riana also was staying at to receive psychiatric care. The last Tromp family member Mark was found on September 3. He was wandering the streets near the Wangaratta airport alone at night, reportedly in good health. He was taken into police custody.

The family’s journey

Initially, Ella Tromp was charged with theft of a vehicle. Riana Tromp’s charges were dropped under the Mental Health Act. In 2017, the charges against Ella were also withdrawn. Shortly after the events, Mark Tromp apologized for the drain on resources resulting from their family trip. However, he never publicly explained what caused the family to behave as they did.

Folie á deux

So, what might have happened with the Tromp family for them to act that way? One possible explanation could offer a rare psychiatric condition called “folie á deux”. The term is French and can be translated to “madness of two”. This condition almost always occurs in close-knit families, which can mean between husband and wife and even between siblings and therefore can be shared by more than two people. Folie á trois, folie á quatre, folie en famille or even folie á plusieurs are all possible variations of this condition, with the latter specifically meaning “madness of many”. For this phenomenon to occur, social isolation is an important factor.

Originally, the term was coined because of a French married couple. Said couple, Margaret and Michael, had begun to show paranoid and delusional behavior at some point in their lives. They believed that their home had been targeted by random people, who spread dust around the house and scattered lint everywhere as they walked in their shoes as the couple slept. Back then, doctors were not able to confirm which of the two was the first to turn psychotic, but it was argued that the couple continued to reinforce each other’s delusions.

Investigators found no evidence that Mark or Jacoba Tromp had a history of mental illness or debts, nor were they taking drugs or medication or involved in any religious group or cult. Yet after the incident, Jacoba admitted herself to a psychiatric facility. There were also indications that the family may have been preparing to leave the country, but ultimately decided against it, possibly because they realized their passports could be tracked. When police searched their farm during the investigation, they discovered the house unlocked and in disarray, with no signs of a struggle but large amounts of documents scattered throughout. Passports and credit cards for all family members were also found inside.

Nowadays, all members of the Tromp family are back working on their farm near Silvan. They have removed the company website and all contact details since returning from their off grid adventure. Whatever prompted the Tromp family to display this strange behavior may forever remain a mystery.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-37293494
https://www.lessentiel.lu/de/story/der-mysterioese-horror-trip-der-familie-tromp-636919033198
https://www.news.com.au/national/is-the-tromp-family-suffering-from-a-rare-shared-psychotic-disorder-known-as-folie–deux/news-story/7b349973f3af4588002f9b21bce007d6
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4284496/Tromp-family-normal-bizarre-trip.html

Pictures:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-37293494
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4284496/Tromp-family-normal-bizarre-trip.html