A father-of-three who has been on the run with his kids in the New Zealand wilderness for several years may have been spotted again.
A family, including Tom Phillips and his three children, was potentially spotted near State Highway 4, south of Te Kūiti, on New Zealand’s north island around 8.30 am one Sunday. The group was seen wearing camouflage clothing, raising concerns about their well-being.
Phillips has been missing with his children Jayda, 11, Ember, 9, and Maverick, 10, since December 2021.
Police received a call from a member of the public after they spotted the group 100m south of the Tikitiki Road intersection with Mapara North Road.
‘The group was comprised of an adult, believed to be a man, and three other people, two of which were described as children,’ police said.
‘Police are now working to establish whether this is a credible sighting and are working to rule out other possible scenarios.
‘A number of enquiries have been carried out over the past two days as we work to confirm the identity of the group.’
A resident close to the location said officers were door-knocking properties on Monday.
Teenage pig hunters observed Tom Phillips and his three children in October, igniting worries about their physical and mental health as they appeared to have been isolated from society for an extended period.
Tom Phillips (pictured) is on the run with his three kids after fears he’d lose custody of them
Before Sunday, the last ‘credible’ sighting of the foursome was in bushland west of Coutts Road in Marokopa in October.
Phillips and the three children were spotted walking through farmland by a pair of pig hunters, who filmed the encounter.
The pair noticed Phillips had a gun and called the police.
Authorities expressed relief that it was the first sighting where all three children were present together. This development provided a sense of comfort to the extended family of the children, according to a statement released by the police.
Following the sighting, police conducted a three-day search of the area, including the use of a military helicopter, but nothing was found.
Phillips first vanished with his three kids on September 11, 2021, before returning home three weeks later. On December 9, a warrant for his arrest was issued after he failed to appear before court.
In a video message last year, the children’s mother Cat said: ‘I am standing here before you today begging you for your help to bring my babies home.
‘They are just innocent children, they do not deserve to be treated this way. They do not deserve the life that is being provided to them right now.’
The mother of three kids in the New Zealand wilderness with their fugitive father for almost three years has claimed to have spotted him in disguise at a Bunnings (pictured)
Cat has accused Phillips of using their children as ‘pawns in his game’.
Police believe his main motive for taking the kids into the bush was the fact he no longer had legal custody.
‘That’s effectively why we believe he has taken the children, over custody,’ Acting Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders said.
Detective Saunders said police believed it was possible Phillips used his first disappearance as a preparation for his next.
‘Yes, it certainly goes into our thinking that that could have been a warm-up to what he has done now,’ he said.
Custody now sits with Oranga Tamariki, a government department in New Zealand responsible for the wellbeing of children, and they have made arrangements for when the children are located as to where they will go.
When Phillips first went missing, he had lawful custody of the children, Saunders said.
In October, Cat claimed she saw Phillips at a Bunnings as she walked past a ute in the carpark. The mother claimed the ute belonged to an associate of Phillips and was only reported stolen after she saw him.
Cat believes Phillips was being helped by a group of supporters around New Zealand.
Before the sighting last year, police alleged Phillips was seen on November 2, 2023, on CCTV after an attempted burglary.
New Zealand Police believe that the children were taken by their father, Tom Phillips, to a location somewhere in the western Waikato after a dispute with their mother
Security footage showed a masked pair, believed to be Phillips and one of his children, smashing the front glass of a shop then running after the alarm was set off.
He is also accused of robbing a bank and shooting at a supermarket worker in Te Kūiti in May 2023.
Criminal psychologist Dr Tim Watson-Munro said Phillips showed the skills and understanding to live off the land with three young kids.
Dr Watson-Munro said the psychological effect of separating the children from their friends and family into adolescence could be detrimental for their development.
‘I would worry professionally about their psychological wellbeing arising from all of this,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I mean, it’s an abnormal type of life for young kids to lead.’
