💔 He walked into a country pub — then vanished. Two days later, rescuers found him alone on the remote Omeo Highway
💔 He walked into a country pub — then vanished. Two days later, rescuers found him alone on the remote Omeo Highway.
John Bakkum’s disappearance triggered a desperate search across Victoria’s High Country, with rescuers racing to find the elderly man before it was too late.
When they finally located him, John was alive and taken to hospital. But how he disappeared — and why he was found in such an isolated place — raised even more questions.
👉 The desperate search for john, the mystery surrounding his discovery and what happened next… more below 👇
**Tragic End for Beloved High Country Elder: John Bakkum Dies After Miraculous Rescue from Omeo Highway Crash**
In the quiet alpine town of Harrietville, nestled in Victoria’s High Country, Sunday evenings had long followed a gentle, familiar rhythm for Jacobus “John” Bakkum and his wife Mary. The couple would share a meal at the Harrietville Hotel, a local institution that has served as a gathering place for residents and visitors for generations. Then, as was their custom, Mary would walk the short 500 metres home while John drove their silver 2007 Toyota Prado the same brief distance. They would reunite at their house within minutes, the routine a small expression of independence and trust built over decades of life together in the mountains.
On the evening of Sunday, 23 August 2026, that routine shattered. John, 85, left the hotel around 8pm with Mary after their weekly dinner. She arrived home safely a short time later. He never did. What followed was a baffling two-day disappearance, a frantic multi-agency search across some of Victoria’s most rugged terrain, a miraculous discovery of the elderly man trapped in his crashed vehicle far from home, and ultimately a heartbreaking conclusion when he died in a Melbourne hospital from his injuries just days later.
The story of John Bakkum’s final days has left a deep imprint on the tight-knit communities of Harrietville, the broader Alpine Shire, and the surrounding High Country towns. It is a tale of an ordinary evening gone inexplicably wrong, of community solidarity in the face of fear, of the resilience of an elderly man who survived nearly 48 hours trapped after a single-vehicle crash, and of the quiet devastation that follows when hope turns to grief.
**A Life Rooted in the High Country**
Jacobus Bakkum, known to almost everyone as John, was no ordinary resident of Harrietville. Born in the Netherlands, he arrived in the region in 1971 and quickly became woven into the fabric of local life. For more than five decades he contributed in ways both practical and personal. 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 High Country.
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.
John was described by those who knew him as a man of slim build, about 170 centimetres tall, who walked with a slight hunch and used a walking stick. He was not known for long solo drives. Family and police alike emphasised that it was completely out of character for him to travel significant distances alone. That detail made his disappearance all the more alarming.
**The Disappearance**
After leaving the Harrietville Hotel with Mary on Sunday night, John was expected to drive the short distance south along the Great Alpine Road to their home. Instead, for reasons that remain under investigation, he headed in the opposite direction. CCTV and public sightings later traced the path of the silver Toyota Prado, registration WBD 077. Just after 9pm the vehicle was spotted on the Great Alpine Road near Dinner Plain. Approximately 45 minutes later it was seen in Omeo, roughly 85 kilometres from Harrietville. There were subsequent reports of the car in the Biggara area, nearly 200 kilometres north-east of his home, in Victoria’s Upper Murray region.
Victoria Police launched an immediate search. Senior Sergeant Justin Foots voiced the concerns that gripped investigators and the 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.”
Search efforts expanded rapidly. 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 effort. Friends of the family assisted on the ground. Police released a description and photograph of John and appealed publicly for information, asking anyone in Omeo, Biggara, Corryong and surrounding areas who might have seen the man or the vehicle to come forward. Media coverage amplified the call, turning a local missing-person case into a regional concern.
For nearly two full days the search continued without success. The High Country’s winding roads, steep embankments, dense bush and variable weather made the task formidable. Every hour that passed increased the worry for an 85-year-old man who was not equipped for long periods outdoors in remote terrain.
**The Discovery**
On Tuesday morning, 25 August 2026, the search reached a dramatic turning point. Around 11.30am a passer-by spotted the silver Toyota Prado down an embankment just off the Omeo Highway near Mitta Mitta. 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 elderly man from the difficult location. He was transported to hospital with injuries that at the time 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.”
The discovery brought relief across the High Country. After nearly 48 hours of uncertainty, the community learned that John had survived the crash and the subsequent period trapped in the vehicle. Family members prepared for a reunion. Police continued to investigate the circumstances that had led the car to leave the road, urging anyone who might have witnessed the incident or possessed relevant footage to contact Crime Stoppers.
**The Final Days**
What had initially seemed a story of survival took a tragic turn. Although the injuries were first described as non-life-threatening, John’s condition deteriorated. On Thursday, 27 August 2026, he died in a Melbourne hospital. He was 85.
The news reverberated through Harrietville and the Alpine region. The same community that had mobilised to search for 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 timeline of events between the Sunday evening departure from the hotel and the Tuesday morning discovery.
**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 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 High Country itself forms a dramatic backdrop to the story. The Great Alpine Road, the Omeo Highway, the steep embankments and the long distances between towns are beautiful but unforgiving. Winter and shoulder-season conditions can turn 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.
**Questions That Remain**
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? 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?
Police have indicated that the investigation will continue. Any witnesses or individuals with footage from the relevant roads and times are still encouraged to come forward. 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.
**Remembering John Bakkum**
In the end, the public narrative of the past week—the baffling disappearance, the intensive search, the dramatic rescue, the hopeful hospital transfer and the final, sorrowful outcome—sits alongside a longer private story of a man who chose the High Country as his home and spent more than half a century enriching it. From the post office counter to the fire station, from school committee meetings to the construction of local homes, John Bakkum’s life was one of quiet, consistent contribution.
His wife Mary, who walked home that Sunday night expecting to see him within minutes, now faces life without the partner with whom she shared those regular meals and that familiar routine. Nephew Trevor Castricum and the wider family have spoken of a man deeply embedded in community life and deeply loved. The Alpine Shire’s earlier recognition of his volunteer service stands as an official record of a life well lived in service to others.
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. In a region defined by its mountains, its weather and its close-knit towns, the loss of an elder who embodied community spirit is keenly felt.
John Bakkum’s final journey began with a short planned drive home and ended, after extraordinary circumstances, in a Melbourne hospital. Between those points lay a two-day ordeal, a community’s determined search, a passer-by’s timely discovery, and a brief period of hope. That he was found alive after such an ordeal remains remarkable. That he could not ultimately recover is a source of profound sadness for all who knew him and for the many who followed his story from afar.
The High Country has lost one of its own. The quiet man who once ran the local store, delivered the mail, fought fires, built homes and sat on countless committees has taken his leave. 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.
