Missing Marokopa family: Police dismiss claims fugitive Tom Phillips not involved in bank robbery

• Some Marokopa locals have claimed fugitive father Tom Phillips was not involved in an armed robbery at an ANZ bank last year.
• Phillips faces three charges in relation to the incident on May 16 – aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding and unlawfully possessing a firearm.
• The search for Phillips and his three children – Jayda, Maverick and Ember – continues after a “credible” sighting this month.

Police have poured cold water on speculation that fugitive Marokopa father Tom Phillips was not involved in an armed robbery at a bank near his hometown last year.

They issued a warrant for Phillips’ arrest in September last year after an aggravated robbery at ANZ Te Kūiti – during which a supermarket worker was shot at.

Two people entered the bank on Rora St on May 16 and demanded cash. Both were armed and fled the scene on a black, farm-styled motorbike.

But some Marokopa locals have refused to believe Phillips was involved in the robbery, claiming they know who the real thief is.

Armed offenders – one believed to be Marokopa fugitive Tom Phillips – fleeing the scene of an aggravated robbery in Te Kūiti on a black, farm-style motorbike. Photo / NZ Police

“My friend works at the bank and she knows ... it wasn’t Tom,” one woman told Daily Mail Australia.

She said CCTV released by police – showing what police said was a masked Phillips with an accomplice – doesn’t prove the real identity of the robber.

“What do police have? CCTV of a man in a mask? It’s nothing,” she said.

Another local said the thief was the same height as Phillips, but that was where the resemblance ended.

“His height matches up, but that’s all they’ve got,” he said.

“Two arms and two legs, motorcycle helmet.”

Police told the Herald their previous comments on this matter still stand – that Phillips is alleged to be responsible for the incident and the other person involved is yet to be identified.

Police this week confirmed to the Herald that Phillips has four charges against him.

After the armed bank heist, Phillips was charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding and unlawfully possessing a firearm.

He is also charged with wasteful deployment of police resources relating to a 17-day search and rescue operation in September 2021 when he and his three children – Jayda, 11, Maverick, 9, and Ember, 8 – first vanished.

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

The family returned home three weeks later, but in December 2021, the four vanished again. An arrest warrant was issued for Phillips after he failed to appear before court in early 2022.

It was also alleged that Phillips stole a quad bike from a rural Waikato property and proceeded to break into a store in Piopio with one of his children in November last year, but police said charges had not yet been laid concerning these incidents.

This month, footage emerged of Phillips and the three children – wearing camo gear and carrying large packs – tramping in remote central North Island farmland after a chance encounter with teenage pig hunters.

Police later determined the sighting as “credible”.

“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.”

After a three-day search, including the use of a military helicopter, “nothing further of significance” was found, according to police. The four have not been sighted since.

Tom Phillips and his three children were spotted in the Marokopa bush by pig hunters this month.

The children’s mother, Cat, earlier said it felt like the search was “out of the police’s league” and asked why more qualified authorities had not been brought in for assistance.

She was emotional when she spoke about getting proof her three children – who she last saw in 2021 – were alive.

“It was overwhelming, it was amazing, it was the best thing.

“I just broke down ... I can’t see their faces but I can see them walking and they’re all there, and they’re capable of carrying their own bags.”

While the photos provided some solace for Cat, it proved to be short-lived because police were still unable to locate the children.

She called the police response “sorely lacking” and said “more should have been done instantly”.

“More could have been done and definitely faster ... especially when they know who they’re dealing with,” she said.

“If police are unable to locate him or search for him ... why can’t they bring someone else in who is more qualified to do that job like the Army ... or the SAS? That’s their thing.

“I know to a lot of people that seems ridiculous, but that’s what they’re trained for.”

A former SAS tracker last week told the Herald elite NZSAS soldiers would be able to locate Phillips and his three children within two weeks if they were deployed to the remote central North Island farmland where the family were spotted this month.

Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.