A fugitive father and his three children who vanished three years ago have been spotted hiking through a remote bushland on New Zealand’s west coast.
Tom Phillips and his kids — Ember, 8, Maverick, 9, and Jayda, 11 — were filmed by two hunters around 6:30pm on October 3 in a grass field by Marokopa town on the country’s North Island.
This is the first sighting of the four since their disappearance in December 2021, after having vanished once already over a dispute between Phillips and the mother. The police are now keeping a keen eye on the fugitive, and have put out a warrant for his arrest.
Eerie video footage showed a father and his children hiking in a remote bushland for the first time since their disappearance three years ago
Image credits: Missing Marokopa Children
In the video, the four can be seen carrying backpacks and wearing camouflage clothing with one of the witnesses saying they looked “well-prepared for the wilderness.”
One of the children reportedly asked if anyone knew they were there, seemingly unaware they were being filmed.
“The children asked, ‘Who else knows we’re here?’” said John McOviney, the grandfather of one of the teenage hunters who encountered the family. “And then they just kept on walking. They were all packed up, they had big packs on. I think the father sort of kept them moving.”
Image credits: Missing Marokopa Children
The police were quickly alerted after the spotting.
Daily Mail reported that Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders said the sighting was “credible.” Authorities then launched a search with two helicopters — one of which was a military chopper with night vision — on Friday morning after patrols had looked through the area the previous evening.
The group has not been seen since.
Police are confident this spotting is a “positive line of inquiry”
Image credits: 1News
“While nothing of further significance was located, investigators will now assess information gathered to determine any next steps,” Saunders said.
“This is the first time all three of the children have been sighted, which is positive information, and we know that it will be reassuring for the children’s wider family.”
Though not much more detail could be provided, Saunders wanted to “reassure the public” that they have the right resources to respond to any more information or sightings if they take place.
“Our focus is very much on the safe return of Jayda, Maverick and Ember to their family and we are doing all that we can to make that happen,” he said.
An arrest warrant has been put out for Phillips after he and his children disappeared
Image credits: 1News
@rnzsocial Until Thursday, Phillips and his three children Jayda, now 11, Maverick, nine, and Ember, eight, had not been seen together since 12 December 2021. 🎥 Supplied / John McOviney #rnz #nz #fyp #nztiktok #marokopa #tomphillips ♬ original sound – rnztokThe four were first reported missing back in September 2021 when the father’s truck was found abandoned, resulting in a large search operation that spanned from land to sea.
Nineteen days later, they walked back into his parents’ farmhouse, Phillips claiming that he had just taken his children on an extended camping trip.
Image credits: Waikato Police
He was charged after authorities noted he did not have legal custody of the three kids and violated an order by taking them to an unknown location, additionally wasting police time and resources.
Less than three months later, the four were reported missing again when Phillips failed to appear at a court appearance in January 2022. A warrant was then issued for his arrest.
This isn’t the first time Phillips has reportedly caused trouble since he vanished
Image credits: Missing Marokopa Children
According to Independent, the father-of-three is wanted for allegedly robbing a bank at gunpoint in Te Kuiti in May 2023. He is also said to have been seen in a supermarket in November 2023, where he got into an altercation and stole a car.
In June of this year, police offered a NZD 80,000 (~ 48,500 USD) reward for anyone who had information on the safe return of the children. It has since expired.
The public has been warned not to approach Phillips as he may be armed.
The children’s mother is “relieved” for the update and posted an emotional video urging people to help bring her kids home
Image credits: Waikato Police
“I am standing here before you today begging you for your help to bring my babies home,” she said, only having been identified as Catherine. “They are just innocent children, they don’t deserve to be treated this way. They do not deserve the life that is being provided to them right now.”
Despite it all, she was still able to find the silver lining. She said, “I’m so happy that they’re all there. I’m so relieved to see all three of my babies. They’re all alive.”
Catherine later shared a letter Phillips had allegedly written to her a few months after his disappearance.
Image credits: Missing Marokopa Children
“I don’t know what to say or do to help you forgive me,” he wrote.
“I’m not desperate to be with someone or I would have already done it. I don’t want to be with someone, I want to be with you Catherine, the woman I have been in love with for over seven years. I can’t make you forgive me. Only you can make that choice and I know you don’t have to.
“I know if I ever give up trying to make things right I will regret it forever. I am sorry for everything I have ever said or done to hurt you. These past nine months I have suffered everyday knowing I should have dealt with things better and knowing that I f–ked up.”
People on the Internet expressed their sympathies for the children’s mother
Image credits: Waikato Police
“I cannot believe this is still going on,” read one comment. “And even more alarming is the people that have been helping him hide away for so long. I hope they charged to the full extent of the law.”
“People seem to be forgetting that the kids have a mother, and extended family that they’re being kept from,” another added.
Others questioned whether the children wanted to be found at all.
Someone wrote, “Those kids could leave anytime but choose to stay with dad.”
Commentors on Facebook shared their potential theories on the situation
English (US) ·