Possible new sighting of Marokopa fugitive father Tom Phillips and his children

• Tom Phillips and his three children were allegedly spotted sitting in a layby on State Highway 4 on Sunday.
• Police are investigating the sighting’s credibility and have asked others to come forward.
• Phillips has been missing with his children since December 2021, with a previous credible sighting in October last year.

Missing Marokopa fugitive Tom Phillips and his three children have allegedly been spotted again.

Police say they received a report of four people dressed in camouflage clothes sitting in a layby on State Highway 4 in the King Country south of Te Kūiti on Sunday.

A member of the public called police after seeing the group about 8.30am.

“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.”

The sighting was 100m south of Tikitiki Rd intersection with Mapara North Rd.

Phillips used to work as a shepherd and lived with a former partner in the area near Tikitiki Rd, Mapara North Rd, a source told the Herald.

“A number of inquiries have been carried out over the past two days as we work to confirm the identity of the group,” a police spokesman said.

Police are asking others in that group to come forward.

Phillips has been missing with his children Jayda, Ember and Maverick since December 2021.

Ember would now be 9 years old, Maverick 10, and Jayda 11.

A resident close to the location of the new possible sighting near Te Kūiti said police had been door-knocking properties on Monday.

He said he was told by police yesterday there had been a possible sighting of the fugitive father and his children, but didn’t have any further information. He didn’t know who had reported the sighting.

Police are searching for Tom Phillips and his three children Ember, Maverick, and Jayda, who have been missing from Marokopa since December 2021. Photo / NZME

It comes after police determined a sighting of Phillips and his three children in bush west of Coutts Rd in Marokopa in October was “credible”.

Phillips and his three children were most recently seen after teenage pig hunters captured footage of the quartet dressed in camouflage and carrying large backpacks across rugged farmland.

“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,” police said at the time.

The sighting sparked a three-day search of the area, including the use of a military helicopter, but “nothing further of significance” was found, according to police.

Fugitive dad Tom Phillips and his three children were spotted tramping in the Marokopa bush last October.

Before the sighting last year, police alleged Tom Phillips was seen on November 2, 2023, on CCTV after an attempted burglary at a Piopio store.

Security footage from the shop showed a masked pair, believed to be Phillips and one of his children, smashing the front glass and fleeing north after the alarm was set off about 2am.

He is also accused of robbing a bank and shooting at a supermarket worker in Te Kūiti in May 2023.

Phillips vanished for the first time with his three young children on September 11, 2021.

The family returned home three weeks later, but on December 9 an arrest warrant was issued for Phillips 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.”

Cat has spoken to the Herald in the past about her thoughts on Phillips and his actions, calling him a criminal who is using his children as “pawns in his game”.

Police have previously said they believe his main motive for taking his children bush is the fact he no longer has legal custody.

“That’s effectively why we believe he has taken the children, over custody,” Acting Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders told the Herald in Marokopa manhunt: The pursuit of fugitive Tom Phillips and his kids, a mini-documentary about the case.

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.”

Saunders revealed Phillips no longer had custody of the children. Custody now sits with Oranga Tamariki 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.

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