Police have released the first images of what they believe is one of many campsites where a New Zealand father on the run hid with his three children for years.
Two of Tom Phillips’ children were found at the site in the Waikato region on Monday, hours after he was killed in a shootout with the police.
Police found them with the help of the third child, who was with Phillips when he died. They said the children are “doing well”, but will take time to recover from the ordeal.
Shortly before Christmas in 2021, Phillips disappeared with his children – Jayda, Maverick, and Ember, then aged eight, seven and five respectively. Police believe he did so after losing legal custody of them.
Phillips had “no regard” for the children’s safety and “quite literally put [them] in harm’s way”, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told the media on Tuesday, adding that they are now in the care of authorities.
A stash of firearms and ammunition were also found at the campsite, which is surrounded by dense vegetation. Two quad bikes are pictured parked among trees.
By the time authorities arrived at the site, the search for the two children had been under way for nearly 12 hours.
In the early hours of Monday, police responded to a report of an attempted burglary at a rural farm supply shop in the small town of Piopio. And that is where they entered into a shootout with Mr Phillips. An officer was seriously injured after Phillips fired at him with a high-powered rifle. Mr Chambers said police have “absolutely no doubt” it was intended to kill the officer.
The injured officer has undergone a series of surgeries but still has a long road to recovery ahead of him, Mr Chambers said.
Phillips’ case has gripped New Zealand since the day he became a fugitive nearly four years ago, and although Monday’s events suggest the mystery has drawn to a close, police are still looking for answers.
They are trying to find out how Phillips, believed to be in his late 30s this year, evaded capture despite a nationwide search and multiple sightings – and, crucially, how he was able to access firearms.
Authorities did not address reporters’ questions on Tuesday about whether the children’s mother, known in news reports only as Cat, and members of Phillips’ extended family are in touch with the children.
“Our priority is to make sure these children are looked after and that there is a careful plan, with everyone becoming involved at the right time,” Police Minister Mark Mitchell said.
“They have seen and been exposed to things that children in our country should not be.”
Warwick Morehu from New Zealand’s Ministry for Children added, “These children will be provided with whatever help or assistance they need, for however long they may need it”.
On Monday, the children’s mother was quoted by local media outlet RNZ as saying she was “deeply relieved” that “this ordeal has come to an end” after missing her children dearly “every day for nearly four years”.
But, she continued: “We are saddened by how events unfolded today.”
