Police say they have discovered Tom Phillips, who went bush with his three young children and has been evading police for nearly 18 months, has been disguising himself using face masks and “other means”.
On Thursday, police revealed there had been three credible sightings of Phillips in the Waikato region on Wednesday, but there had been no signs of the children - Jayda, Maverick and Ember.
Inspector Will Loughrin told Checkpoint police were able to establish he had been disguising himself after a person who recognised Phillips in Hamilton contacted them.
“We’ve followed that line of inquiry and have been able to identify him in Te Awamutu earlier in the day as well as the Kāwhia incident later that night,” Loughrin said.
“What our teams are starting to discover from the CCTV that we are reviewing is that it’s clear that Tom has changed his appearance and he’s trying to disguise his face from the general public.
“We’re working through that information so that we can provide the public with accurate information on that, but again [he has been] concealing his identity through wearing a face mask and a number of other means.”
The 36-year-old was seen driving a stolen ute which Checkpoint understands was spotted by locals, who then recognised Phillips behind the wheel and chased him.
He had been seen in the bronze 2003 Toyota Hilux flat-deck ute in Te Awamutu early Wednesday afternoon and later that day at Bunnings in Te Rapa.
“What we’re currently doing is working through those movements to try to establish where he’s been and whether he’s had any contact with anyone along the way,” Loughrin said.
Despite a police search, including the deployment of an Eagle helicopter, Phillips and the vehicle have not been found.
Finding ute, identifying Bunnings purchase key to investigation, police say
Police received reports of sightings of Tom Phillips at the Te Rapa Bunnings car park on Wednesday, August 2. Photo / NZ Police
Now police are seeking the public’s help to find the vehicle, which Loughrin says is “really, really critical to the next stages of our investigation”.
Another key part of the investigation was reviewing CCTV footage to find out what Phillips did and purchased at Bunnings in Te Rapa, he said.
Kāwhia and a number of West Coast communities would see an increased police presence in their areas with the search ongoing, he said.
Police were also speaking to a number of people who have been closely associated to Phillips for some time.
“We’ve been in regular contact with a number of people that are closely associated to Tom Phillips and we’ve always held a view that he has support,” Loughrin said.
“What I’m urging is that person or people involved who have been supporting Tom, now is the time to speak to police.
“Clearly something’s happened yesterday following this altercation and we’re reaching out to those people to come forward and speak to police about what they know.
“We are focused on bringing the children home and they are at the forefront of what we need to do here.”
