'They're all alive': Fugitive father spotted with kids for first time in ...

The man walks with a slight stoop shouldering the weight of his large backpack as his three young children diligently march in a single-file line behind him.

Each carrying their own pack and dressed in camouflage gear, the children trek through the rolling bushland on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island without breaking stride, blissfully unaware they are being filmed.

But on the other side of the camera, a group of pig hunters are seemingly aware they are witnessing the first public sighting of fugitive father Tom Phillips with his children, Jayda, 11, Maverick, 9, and Ember, 8, since he took them on the run almost three years ago.

Before the chance encounter with the hunters on a farm near Marokopa on October 3, the family had not been seen together since December 2021. Police have conducted several searches and made repeated appeals to find the family since then, without success.

This week, another large-scale search was carried out over three days after police received reports of the sighting, but the family were not found.

Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders said the sighting was “credible” and inquiries were ongoing.

“While nothing further of significance was located, investigators will now assess information gathered to determine any next steps,” he said.

“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.”

Phillips has been wanted over an alleged armed robbery of a bank in Te Kuiti, near Marokopa, since last September.

Saunders at the time warned members of the public not to approach Phillips, who Saunders said may have been carrying a gun.

In June, Saunders announced a reward of up to $80,000 was on offer, for two weeks, for information leading to the children being found and returned to their mother. The offer expired without the children being located.

“Police have concerns for the welfare of the children who have been living in isolation for the past 2½ years, with no connection to others and without formal education and health care,” Saunders said.

Police believe Phillips has been helped to evade authorities for almost three years.

“Immunity against prosecution will be considered for anyone who has committed an offence in assisting Tom Phillips, if they provide information or evidence which leads to the location and safe return of the children,” Saunders said in June.

The children’s mother told The New Zealand Herald on Tuesday she was “relieved” to see her “babies” alive.

“I’m so happy that they’re all there,” she said.

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