What fugitive child said to pig hunters as three-year mystery takes dramatic twist

Two boys who came face to face with a family missing in the New Zealand wilderness for three years have revealed what one of the children said in their rare encounter.

Father Tom Phillips and his children Jayda, Maverick and Ember were spotted by two boys on a farm about an hour’s drive from the famous Waitomo Caves in New Zealand’s North Island, clad in camouflage and carrying large backpacks.

Thinking they were poachers, the two 16-year-old boys approached the family about dusk on October 2 while hunting for pigs.

One of the boys told Stuff the eldest girl, Jayda, spoke to him.

“I said, ‘This is private property’, and she was like, ‘Yeah ... duh.’ Then I asked, ‘Does anyone know you’re on here?’ and she said ‘No, just you guys.’ ”

Stuff reported that was the full extent of the exchange, and the family kept walking towards Marokopa. The boys didn’t think the children were in any distress, but took a video as evidence – still believing they had caught poachers in the act.

Jayda, Maverick and Ember Phillips have been missing since being taken by their father, Tom Phillips, in December 2021.Credit: New Zealand Police

It was only when one of the boys sent the video to his grandfather that they discovered they had actually spoken to the Phillips family.

The extraordinary saga began in September 2021 when the family was first reported missing.

A short-lived happy ending

The coastline was scoured, the ocean was swept, nearby bush was combed over, houses in neighbouring towns doorknocked and a mammoth search and rescue mission launched after Phillips’ Toyota HiLux was found abandoned on Kiritehere Beach. He and his children – Jayda, Maverick and Ember – were nowhere to be seen.

Police made repeated public appeals under the broadened Operation Marokopa, established to find the missing family, as fears for Phillips and his children’s welfare grew by the day. Members of the public desperate to help conducted their own searches.

“We want to acknowledge the family’s incredible strength at this incredibly difficult time and thank them for their ongoing help,” Waikato West Area commander, Inspector Will Loughrin, said as police publicly released the first images of Phillips and his children 13 days into the search.

Then, a fortnight later, as suddenly as it had been launched, the police operation ended when Phillips returned home with his children safe and well, telling authorities they had been camping.

“We are so pleased that the family have returned home,” Loughrin told reporters at the time.

“A huge range of people and resources were involved in the search for the family. This search wouldn’t be possible without you. We are so grateful to you.”

But unbeknown to police at the time, the happy ending would be short-lived.

Less than three months later, on December 12, the children again vanished with their father. This time, however, they wouldn’t be seen together for almost three years, when last week a pig hunter filmed the family trekking through bush carrying large backpacks and dressed in camouflage gear.

Vanished into the wilderness

The October 3 sighting, the first time all three children have been seen in public with their father since being declared missing persons almost three years ago, sparked a three-day search for the family. But even with a police and a Royal New Zealand Air Force helicopter used during the search, Phillips and his children again vanished into the wilderness without a trace, foiling another attempt to find them.

“This is the first time all three of the children have been sighted, which is positive information, and we know it will be reassuring for the children’s wider family,” Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders said on Monday.

The children’s mother, Cat, told The New Zealand Herald she was relieved to see her “babies” alive.

“I’m so happy that they’re all there,” she said. “I’m so relieved to see all three of my babies. They’re all alive.”

How Phillips and his children have survived years in the bush and evaded authorities since going on the run is not known, but police suspect he has been helped by supporters.

The children’s mother, Cat, said she was waiting “with open arms” for them to return.

Loyalty trumps reward

So loyal are these suspected allies, not even a reward of up to $80,000 for information leading to his family being found could flush out their whereabouts.

“Immunity against prosecution will be considered for anyone who has committed an offence in assisting Tom Phillips, if they provide information or evidence which leads to the location and safe return of the children,” Saunders said in June when the reward was announced.

While dozens of tips rolled in over the two weeks the reward was available, they amounted to nothing, and the offer expired with police left scratching their heads again.

Authorities have played an almost three-year game of cat and mouse with Phillips, who has been captured on CCTV several times since going on the run and is wanted on outstanding warrants for a range of alleged offending including the armed hold-up of a bank in Te Kuiti last May. In September, he was charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding and unlawful possession of a firearm and a warrant for his arrest was issued. Phillips and another person fled on what police described as a “black, farm-style motorbike”.

Another appeal

Another public appeal was made to find Phillips, who police believed was still armed and potentially dangerous. Like all other attempts to track him down in the past three years, it was unsuccessful.

A month after Phillips fled with his children, who he does not have legal custody of, he skipped court on a charge of causing wasteful deployment of police personnel and resources – laid over the weeks-long search for his family months earlier in September 2021.

Despite several sightings since going on the run, Tom Phillips has evaded police for almost three years.Credit: New Zealand Police

Much to the frustration of police, Phillips has been spotted at several retail stores since then, including at a Bunnings last August when CCTV captured him pushing a trolley with his face covered by a mask and beanie.

The stolen HiLux he was driving was spotted three times in one day before it was eventually found by a member of the public. Phillips wasn’t in it.

“Police would like to thank the public for information received, following appeals for information in the last few days. Investigators are now working through information received,” Superintendent Bruce Bird said at the time.

Three months later, Phillips was again within authorities’ reach, on November 2, when he and an accomplice, believed to be one of his children, tried to break into a shop at Piopio, south-east of Marokopa, after stealing a quad bike from a property.

CCTV captured the pair, wearing masks and clad in camouflage gear similar to that which the Phillips’ were filmed wearing last week, smashing the front door before fleeing when the security alarm sounded just after 2am. Again, he got away.

New Zealand Police said the sighting of the Phillips family had opened a “positive line of enquiry” that investigators were following.Credit: TVNZ

A public appeal followed a fortnight later from police desperate for any information to put them back on Phillips’ scent. Even sightings of the stolen quad bike were better than nothing.

“Police urge the public to report sightings of this vehicle, as it is the best chance we have to locate Tom and his three children and ensure their welfare,” Saunders said at the time.

“We are urging anyone who may have any information, no matter how small, to please come forward to police.”

End of the line

But by then the trail had gone cold.

In January this year, Saunders said investigators searching for the Phillips children had one goal: to bring them home.

“Although the environment is challenging for investigators, we continue to devote resources to this operation and follow up on all reported sightings,” he said.

“We continue to review existing evidence and new information, and appeal to the community to pass on any details that could help the three children be reunited with their family. At this time, there is no plan to offer a reward.”

Less than six months later, police changed tack and announced up to $80,000 was on the table to help find the children. A police chopper was sent up, checkpoints were put in place on roads on the North Island’s west coast and more than 150 reports, 50 of which police deemed credible, were received in the fortnight after the announcement. Again, nothing eventuated.

‘I love them so much’

Months again passed and Phillips’ capture seemingly no closer with the third anniversary of the children’s disappearance approaching. Then came last week’s sighting, which has stirred new hopes.

For their mother, no day without her children is any easier than the last.

“I love them so much,” she told The New Zealand Herald. “We miss them and they’re amazing and they’re so strong and then we just, we’re waiting here, we’re waiting for them to come back.”

And while police will not provide details about the operation to find the children, Saunders said the sighting had opened a “positive line of enquiry” that investigators followed.

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