Jacobus “John” Bakkum, 85, was found on Tuesday, Aug. 25, two days after he went missing, and was said to have “non-life-threatening” injuries at the time
Credit: Victoria Police
NEED TO KNOW
- An 85-year-old man in Australia who went missing while driving home from dinner before being found in his car two days later has died in the hospital
- Jacobus “John” Bakkum was reported missing on Sunday, Aug. 23, after failing to return home, and his car was found crashed down an embankment in the town of Mitta Mitta, about 52 miles from his home, two days later
- Bakkum’s injuries were initially described as “non-life-threatening,” but Victoria Police said on Thursday, Aug. 27, that he had died
An Australian man who went missing while driving home from dinner with his wife before being found in his car two days later has died, according to police.
Jacobus “John” Bakkum, 85, died in a hospital in Melbourne on Thursday, Aug. 27, two days after he was initially found in his vehicle, Victoria Police said in a statement.
Prior to his death, Bakkum’s car had crashed down an embankment in the town of Mitta Mitta, about 52 miles from his home, ABC Australia reported.
On Sunday, Aug. 23, Bakkum was declared missing after failing to return home from the Harrietville Hotel Motel in Harrietville after sharing dinner there with his wife, Mary. He was last seen leaving the business just after 8 p.m. that evening.
Credit: Victoria Police
While Mary opted to walk the short distance to their home, he said he would drive but never arrived home.
His disappearance prompted a police search, with authorities alerted to a few potential sightings before his crashed car was spotted by a passerby off the Omeo Highway just after 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
Bakkum’s nephew, Trevor Castricum, told local outlet The Border Mail that the passerby saw the car by chance when he turned around to look at his dog, who was traveling with him.
“He saw something and he decided to go and look over the edge,” Castricum told the newspaper. “It was only because the dog was on the right side that he was found, but I’m going to try and contact him because without him we could have still been looking.”
Credit: Google
After Bakkum’s car was located, Castricum and other family members arrived at the scene. “He recognized us and said ‘hello’, but he had been sedated by the time we got to him,” he told The Border Mail.
He was taken to the hospital with what officials described as “non-life-threatening injuries” at the time, only to die two days later.
A relative met Bakkum at the hospital, and they described him as being “chipper” before his health worsened, The Border Mail reported.
Officers are set to continue the investigation into the crash, Victoria Police shared.
Speaking to ABC Australia, Castricum paid tribute to his uncle, saying he had been a fixture in the local community since moving to Harrietville in 1971, serving as the local postmaster, running the town’s general store and setting up a local building company.
“He’s always been an active member, [or] the president, secretary of everything from the school committee, hall committee, historical committee,” Castricum said.
Bakkum was born in the Netherlands but moved to Australia with his family as a child, settling in Melbourne before marrying Mary and moving to Harrietville, per The Border Mail.
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His family thanked emergency responders and friends and loved ones for aiding in the search.
“The local police were fantastic on the night he went missing,” Castricum told The Border Mail.
“He had not been gone long, and I thought they would wait until morning, but they went out there that night and that was really good.”
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