💔 An 85-year-old man vanished from a pub. Forty-ei...

💔 An 85-year-old man vanished from a pub. Forty-eight hours later, rescue teams found him in a place no one expected.

💔 An 85-year-old man vanished from a pub. Forty-eight hours later, rescue teams found him in a place no one expected.

John Bakkum went missing in Victoria’s High Country, sparking an urgent two-day search across rugged terrain and along the Omeo Highway.

When rescuers found him, he was still alive—but in such critical condition that he required emergency medical attention. Sadly, John later passed away.

The greatest mystery remains the journey he took between the pub where he was last seen and the remote stretch of highway where he was discovered.

👉 THE LAST SIGHTING, THE SEARCH, AND THE BIZARRE TURN OF EVENTS… SEE DETAILS BELOW 👇

The Last Ordinary Evening

In the small alpine town of Harrietville, nestled among the peaks and valleys of Victoria’s High Country, Sunday evenings had long followed a gentle, predictable rhythm for Jacobus “John” Bakkum and his wife Mary. For years the couple had made a weekly ritual of dinner at the Harrietville Hotel, a local landmark that has served as a social hub for residents and visitors for generations. After the meal they would part ways for the short journey home. Mary preferred to walk the 500 metres. John drove their silver 2007 Toyota Prado the same brief distance. They would meet at the house within ten or fifteen minutes, a small expression of independence and trust built over decades of shared life in the mountains.

On the evening of Sunday, 23 August 2026, that familiar pattern broke. Around 8pm John and Mary left the hotel together after their regular meal. Mary set off on foot and arrived home safely a short time later. John never appeared. What should have been a five-minute drive turned into a baffling disappearance that would dominate the region for days, mobilise emergency services across vast and difficult country, produce a dramatic roadside discovery, and ultimately end in tragedy.

At 85, John Bakkum was not a man known for long solo journeys. Family and police later emphasised repeatedly that travelling significant distances alone was completely out of character. He was described as Caucasian in appearance, of slim build, approximately 170 centimetres tall, with a slight stoop and the use of a walking stick. He could not walk long distances without becoming short of breath. These details only heightened the alarm when he failed to return home.

The Vanishing and the First Sightings

Instead of turning toward his house, the Prado headed in the opposite direction along the Great Alpine Road. Just after 9pm the vehicle was spotted near Dinner Plain. Approximately forty-five minutes later it was seen in Omeo, roughly 85 kilometres from Harrietville. Later reports placed the car even farther afield, in the Biggara area of Victoria’s Upper Murray, nearly 200 kilometres north-east of his home. The registration number WBD 077 confirmed it was the same silver Toyota Prado.

Victoria Police launched an immediate search. Senior Sergeant Justin Foots articulated the concerns that gripped investigators and the wider community: the man’s age, the unusual distance travelled, and the fact that the planned journey had been only a few minutes long. “At this stage, his age is a concern to us, and that it’s out of character that he would drive by himself a distance like that,” Foots said. “Certainly wouldn’t ordinarily drive too far. And certainly when he left his wife, they were intending to meet at home within the following sort of 10-15 minutes.”

The disappearance quickly escalated from a local missing-person matter into a major regional operation. Police released John’s photograph and description and appealed publicly for information. They asked anyone in Omeo, Biggara, Corryong or along the connecting highways who might have seen the man or the vehicle to come forward. Media coverage amplified the call, turning a quiet High Country mystery into a story followed across Victoria and beyond.

The Search Across Rugged Country

What followed was a frantic, multi-agency effort across some of the most challenging terrain in the state. Local police scoured the townships and tracks between Harrietville and Bright. Victoria Police Air Wing conducted aerial searches around Mount Hotham and the Great Alpine Road. State Emergency Service crews joined the ground effort. Friends of the family assisted in the search. The High Country’s winding roads, steep embankments, dense bush and changeable weather made every hour more difficult and more worrying.

For nearly forty-eight hours the search continued without success. An elderly man alone in remote alpine country after dark is a scenario every search team dreads. The longer John remained missing, the greater the fear that time and the elements would claim him. Yet the community refused to give up. Residents checked remote tracks, monitored local roads, and shared any scrap of information that might help. The public response was a reflection of the place John occupied in the life of the region.

The Discovery No One Expected

Then, on Tuesday morning, 25 August 2026, the impossible happened. Around 11.30am a passer-by spotted the silver Toyota Prado down an embankment just off the Omeo Highway near Mitta Mitta—more than a two-hour drive from Harrietville. The vehicle appeared to have been involved in a single-vehicle crash. Inside, or trapped in the wreckage, was John Bakkum. He was alive.

Emergency services launched a high-angle rescue to extract the 85-year-old from the difficult location. He was transported to hospital. At the time his injuries were assessed as non-life-threatening. Victoria Police issued a statement confirming the positive news: “We are happy to advise missing Harrietville man John has been located. It appears he was involved in a single vehicle crash in Mitta Mitta some time over the last two days and has been located this morning, just after 11.30am, in Mitta Mitta. His vehicle was located by a passer-by down an embankment just off Omeo Highway. He will be transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and will be reunited with his family. Police would like to thank media and the public for their assistance.”

Relief swept through the High Country. After two days of uncertainty and fear, John had survived the crash and the long hours trapped in the vehicle. Family members prepared for a reunion. The community that had searched for him celebrated the news that he had been found alive.

The Heartbreaking Turn

That hope proved short-lived. Although the injuries had initially been described as non-life-threatening, John’s condition deteriorated in hospital. On Thursday, 27 August 2026, he died in a Melbourne hospital from his injuries. He was 85.

The same community that had mobilised to find him now mourned him. Family members expressed profound gratitude to the police, paramedics, CFA crews, friends and relatives who had participated in the search. They described John as “much loved, near and far,” and said he would be deeply missed. Victoria Police confirmed that the investigation into the circumstances of the crash remained ongoing. There has been no suggestion of foul play. The focus has been on understanding how and why the vehicle left the road, and the precise timeline of events between the Sunday evening departure from the hotel and the Tuesday morning discovery.

A Life of Service in the High Country

Beyond the dramatic final days, John Bakkum was a man who had given more than five decades to the High Country. He arrived in Harrietville in 1971 and quickly became woven into the fabric of local life. He served as the town’s postmaster and ran the general store for many years, roles that placed him at the centre of daily interactions in a small community where everyone knew everyone else. He helped establish a local building company that constructed homes, chalets and public buildings across Harrietville and the wider region.

His nephew, Trevor Castricum, later recalled the breadth of his uncle’s involvement: “Since 1971, when he came to Harrietville, John has always been involved in the community. He’s always been an active member, the president, secretary of everything from the school committee, hall committee, historical committee. He’s been the captain of the fire brigade, anything and everything in town.” In 2021 the Alpine Shire Council formally recognised his decades of volunteer service with an award, a public acknowledgement of a life spent serving others.

The Bakkums had enjoyed a deep connection with the Harrietville community since moving to the region in the 1970s. John’s regular presence at the Harrietville Hotel, the simple weekly ritual of dinner with Mary, had become part of the town’s social fabric. That ordinary evening, which ended in such extraordinary and ultimately fatal circumstances, has prompted reflection on the vulnerabilities of ageing in remote areas, the challenges of navigating mountain roads at night, and the quiet strength of rural communities that rally when one of their own goes missing.

The Landscape That Shaped the Story

The High Country itself forms a dramatic and unforgiving backdrop to the events. The Great Alpine Road, the Omeo Highway, the steep embankments and the long distances between towns are beautiful but demanding. Winter and shoulder-season conditions can change quickly. An elderly driver who becomes disoriented or experiences a medical event faces significant risks. John’s survival for nearly two days after the crash is a testament both to his resilience and to the sheer chance of the passer-by who found the vehicle when he did.

The search itself highlighted the difficulties of operating in such country. Aerial searches by the Air Wing, ground patrols by police and SES, and the assistance of local knowledge all played their part. Yet even with modern technology and determined effort, the Prado remained hidden until a member of the public happened upon it. The discovery underscored both the isolation of many stretches of the Omeo Highway and the critical role ordinary citizens can play in missing-person cases.

Unanswered Questions and Ongoing Investigation

As the family begins the process of mourning and the community prepares to farewell one of its most dedicated citizens, several questions linger. What caused John to drive away from home that night instead of toward it? Did he become confused? Was there a medical episode behind the wheel? What sequence of events led the Prado off the Omeo Highway and down the embankment? How long was he trapped before discovery, and what physical toll did those hours exact on an 85-year-old man?

Police have indicated that the investigation will continue. Anyone who witnessed the vehicle on the relevant roads or has footage from the Sunday night or subsequent days is still encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers. The answers may never fully satisfy those who loved him, but they may offer some clarity and, perhaps, lessons for road safety and support for older drivers in regional Australia.

A Community in Mourning

In small alpine towns, the loss of a long-time resident who has worn so many hats is felt acutely. John Bakkum’s decades of service as postmaster, storekeeper, builder, fire brigade captain and committee member left tangible marks on Harrietville. The buildings constructed by the company he helped establish still stand. The committees he served on shaped local education, community facilities and historical preservation. The fire brigade he once captained continues to protect the region.

His absence will be noticed in the small ways that matter most in places like Harrietville—in the conversations at the hotel, in the knowledge held by long-time residents, and in the collective memory of a town that values those who stay and serve. The streets of Harrietville, the curves of the Great Alpine Road, and the embankments along the Omeo Highway will, for a time, carry the weight of this story. Yet the buildings John helped raise, the committees he strengthened, and the memories held by those who knew him will endure longer than the news cycle.

The Final Journey

In the end, an ordinary Sunday night at a High Country pub became a two-day ordeal, a dramatic roadside rescue, a brief window of hope, and a community’s grief. John Bakkum was found alive in a place no one expected—trapped in his crashed vehicle far from the short drive home he had intended to make. He required emergency medical attention after a high-angle rescue. He did not survive the injuries that followed.

The greatest mystery remains the journey itself: the unexplained decision to drive away from home, the long kilometres through the alpine night, the single-vehicle crash on a remote stretch of the Omeo Highway, and the nearly forty-eight hours that passed before a passer-by made the discovery that brought him back to his family, however briefly.

John Bakkum’s life was one of quiet, consistent contribution to the High Country he called home for more than fifty years. His final days were marked by fear, determination, relief, and ultimately loss. The mountains that shaped his life now hold both the memory of a dedicated community leader and the lingering questions of his last, unexplained journey. The people of Harrietville and the wider Alpine region will remember him not only for the dramatic circumstances of his disappearance and death, but for the decades he spent building, serving and belonging in the place he chose to call home.