In what made for a gripping multiple missing persons case that bewildered police and the public, Riana’s dad Mark Tromp inexplicably took his wife Jacoba, 53, and the couple’s three adult children – Mitch, 25, Ella, 22, and Riana – on an erratic road trip from their home east of Melbourne.
Packing his family up on August 29, he drove them all the way to NSW, stopping at Bathurst and Jenolan Caves, without any real plan or direction.
The tight-knit Tromp family: (L-R) Riana, Mark, Jacoba, Mitch and Ella.
The spontaneous decision ended in a chaotic mix of confusion, sirens, newspaper headlines and mental health units – and the otherwise quiet farming family quickly became household names.
When we met with eldest daughter Riana, taking a lunch break from harvesting berries at her family farmhouse, she opened up to Woman’s Day about the bizarre sequence of events her family went through nine months ago.
The doors were left unlocked when the family fled their Silvan home.
“We are all happy, healthy and just trying to get back on track again and get over everything that’s happened,” Riana says in her first interview since the dramatic event.
“We are all very embarrassed,” Riana confesses.
WATCH: The Tromp children address the incident. Post continues after the video…
“We didn’t want to be famous, that’s for famous people.”
For the full story on the Tromp family mystery, get the the new issue of Woman’s Day – on sale now!
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