Inside fugitive father’s NZ hideaway
New Zealand police have revealed photos of the dense forest where a fugitive father camped with his three kids as he avoided capture after nearly four years on the run.
Tom Phillips, inset, was killed by police in a shootout after he robbed an agricultural supplies store early on Monday morning in the small town of Piopio, in the North Island’s Waikato region.
The hidden camp site where two of his children were found yesterday, was about 2km from where Phillips was killed. One of Phillips’ children was with him during Monday’s shooting and helped police find the camp.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Police said they had to approach the site with the caution because “we knew there were firearms”. They said some structures had been found at the site.
They are investigating how the family survived and how long they had been camped there. The outlaw absconded with his three children — Ember 9, Maverick 10 and Jayda 12, right, — in December 2021 after a row with his former partner, and has avoided authorities despite various sightings.
His case captivated the country, particularly the town of Marokopa where he was suspected of hiding.
Leon Wood told Stuff.co.nz he first encountered Phillips in the Kāwhia area, where he came across the father with a friend and the three children in a ute, he said.
“I identified Tom as a passenger. I could see his head. There is no one else with a head like that,” Mr Wood said, claiming he spent 976 hours looking for fugitive.
Mr Wood spoke of two other encounters with Phillips, including one where the Phillips was carrying a gun. He said poor phone coverage hampered his efforts to contact police at the time.
Police said they received sporadic reports on the health of the children and decided against a full-on search for the family so as not to threaten their safety.
In recent weeks they believed the support network may have crumbled, leading to more brazen burglaries.
“If you went to Marokopa, half the town seemed to support him and half the town thought he was a criminal,” an officer said. “But more recently his support seemed to be running thin.”
