For three weeks, Ronny Melby’s family lived in uncertainty about what had happened to them. Now all they hope for is a final answer.
VG has been in contact with the mother and sister of the late Ronny Melby, who for three weeks lived in uncertainty as to where he was and what had happened to him.
He oscillated between hope and despair – until when was found on October 20, after the police decided to carry out new searches. But they still don’t know what happened.
– The last hope we have now is that we can get a definitive answer to what really happened to him, writes his mother Sølvi Melby to VG via her daughter Britt Demiral.
She describes her son as good, kind and caring and says that together they shared a lot of fun moments and a lot of laughs.
– There will be a huge emptiness and a loss, says the mother.
A consolation that it has been found
Ronny Melby’s sister Britt Demiral wrote several Facebook posts about her brother after his disappearance.
– I can’t and don’t want to understand. The only thing that is a consolation in this painful hell here is that we found you, she writes.
VG reproduces parts of its posts with permission.
He commends the police entourage and all the efforts of the volunteers to look for him.
– Knowing that so many people were involved in finding him was comforting during such a brutal wait.
– The coolest big brother
For the sister, however, it was difficult to read the descriptions of her brother in the media, as a person who belonged to a criminal drug environment. He was far from the Ronny he knew, and the descriptions were too narrow, he believes.
– He was the coolest big brother who taught me in the beginning that it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission. The kindest and most caring uncle who helped us with everything we asked for.
He describes it as a mix of Reodor Felgen and MacGyver with all the projects he was working on in the garage.
According to her sister, her sense of humor “crossed all boundaries”.
– He looked fine
Kjell Magnussen (63) met Melby while talking in a car at a gas station six or seven years ago – and they became good friends who eventually had daily contact for the past few years, while Melby lived in Selbu.
– It is a relief that it has been found, instead of going to limbo. Now my thoughts go to Ronny’s family, the closest, says his friend.
The last time they met was in a shop in Selbu in mid-September. Melby had moved from Selbu, but she was visiting someone else.
– I just think he seemed nice to him, Magnussen says of the last meeting.
– I was hoping he would come back
A few days after Magnussen’s last meeting with Melby, his mother called to see if she knew anything about him. Magnussen initially thought his partner just wanted to be with himself for a while and clear his mind.
– Wasn’t that unnatural to him?
– No, I don’t feel it, says Magnussen.
But when Melby was formally declared missing and the case received press attention, it struck him:
– It occurred to me more and more. I soon thought he was gone. But at the same time I was hoping he would come back, I was hoping he would show up, says the friend.
– A thousand artists
Since meeting at the gas station, Ronny Melby and Kjell Magnussen have become good friends. They had daily contact as long as Melby lived in Selbu, by phone or when they met at Magnussen’s home to take care of practical things, such as automobiles, repairs and renovations.
– You will be looking for someone who is such a mix between a master artist and Petter Smart for a long time, says Magnussen of Ronny.
Everything he knew was self-taught, according to his friend.
– Then he had the attitude of Pippi Longstocking: “I’ve never done this before, so I can definitely do it,” says Magnussen.
Former couple of neighbors: – A friend of ours
Until a year ago, Melby was next to married couple Mari (79) and Narve (78) Rognebakke in Selbu. She lived here with her mother for about seven years.
Now the close couple have followed him in the news – with the sad outcome of last week.
– What happened is absolutely terrible. Absolutely terrible. We are in mourning and we think it is so painful, says the former neighboring couple.
– We knew him very well. He was so helpful and extraordinarily good. A practitioner, that is, says Narve.
Ronny always came for a chat when Narve mowed the lawn.
– Helped us with everything from cars, lawns, paint and tractors. Changing the fluorescent tubes, the former neighbor stands up.
The defendant was released
Since Ronny Melby (46) was formally declared missing on 1 October there was intense hunting both to find out where he was and what had happened to him. It was important to the police, because for a long time they could not rule out that he was alive and that he was being held somewhere against his will.
A man who was accused of subjecting Melby to fatal violence, was released from custody on Mondayat the same time the police announced that the charge against him will be changed.
Man has always denied guilt.
