When the Tromp family abruptly flees their quiet rural home in Australia on August 29, 2016, it sets off one of the most disturbing and perplexing cases the country has ever known. Less than 24 hours later, police receive a chilling late-night call: a young woman has been found barely conscious in the back of a stranger’s truck. She’s nearly catatonic, unable to say who she is or how she got there—until authorities identify her as 29-year-old Riana Tromp. How does someone go from fleeing with her family to being found in that state hundreds of kilometers away just a day later? And where was the rest of her family?

In this episode, we trace the eerie and unsettling timeline of the Tromp family’s disappearance, exploring how fear and paranoia appeared to take hold and drive a series of decisions that defy explanation.

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, help is available. Visit FindaHelpline.com to find relevant resources available in your country. Or, if you're in Canada or the US, dial 988 to reach the 24/7 suicide crisis hotline.

RESOURCES:

"Tromp family: The mystery of a tech-free road trip gone wrong" (The BBC)

"In 2016, the Tromp family fled their home and drove 800km north. We still don't know why" (Mamamia)

"Missing Victorian mother Jacoba Tromp found alive in NSW hospital" (The Sydney Morning Herald)

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