What happened to Cas Steenbergen in the night of July 16 to 17 last year? Through an action on social media, acquaintances of his hope to find out. They call on witnesses to report if they saw anything that night.
The 23-year-old resident of De Schiphorst visited the equestrian event Concours Hippique De Wolden last year and was seriously injured on the way back home. He died in hospital four weeks later. The police think it was a bicycle accident, but the family is also keeping other options open.
Through social media, acquaintances hope that witnesses will report with more information. “Cas’s parents know approximately where all visitors came from last year. For example, Zuidwolde or further away on Urk. Residents from those places will then see an advertisement on Facebook or Instagram with the call to report something if they have seen something suspicious that night,” says one of the initiators of the action, who prefers not to be named.
The advertisement is therefore intended for a specific group. In addition to Zuidwolde and Urk, people from Hoogeveen, Meppel, Staphorst and Dedemsvaart, Balkbrug and Hardenberg can also expect a message. “At first we try to reach people between the ages of 18 and 50. Later we adjusted that slightly to between 18 and 35 years. A little more specific to its own age category.”
In total, the ad reached more than 20,000 people.
It is still not entirely clear what happened that night. Cas Steenbergen was found in his bed the next morning with injuries. He was unconscious and taken to hospital in Zwolle, where he later died. The police think it was an accident, but the family takes into account that something else may have happened that night.
Eventually, the request was submitted to the police to view CCTV footage of the evening in question. For example, there were cameras in the vicinity of the event site. A specialist viewed the images, but there were no criminal offenses to be seen. The police have therefore decided not to investigate further.