A New Zealand father who went on the run with his three children has been spotted for the first time since their disappearance three years ago.
Tom Phillips was seen with his children—Jayda (11), Maverick (9), and Ember (8)—on the evening of Monday, October 7, on New Zealand’s remote North Island, according to the New Zealand Police.
Footage captured by pig hunters and shared by various news outlets shows a man believed to be Phillips leading three masked children across grassy farmland. The family was dressed in matching camouflage outfits and carrying backpacks.
This sighting follows Phillips’ initial disappearance with his children in September 2021. He briefly returned to his remote farm in Marokopa, about 310 miles north of Wellington, before vanishing again in December 2021.
“The sighting of Tom Phillips has opened a positive line of inquiry that the investigation team is now pursuing,” New Zealand Police stated in a news release on Tuesday, October 8. “Investigators received information around 7:00 p.m. on Thursday that Tom had been seen in a bush area west of Coutts Road in Marokopa with Jayda, Maverick, and Ember. This was a credible sighting, and police believe it was indeed Tom and his children.”
Patrols began in the area on Thursday night, with a search operation launched the following morning.
The children’s mother, Cat, who has not seen them since 2021, expressed her relief upon hearing about the sighting. “I’m so happy that they’re all there. I’m so relieved to see all three of my babies. They’re all alive,” she told The New Zealand Herald.
Phillips’ mother, Julia, added, “We’d love for them to come home. We were relieved to see the children alive and well. We thought they would be, but you never know.”
John McOviney, the grandfather of one of the teenage pig hunters who filmed Phillips and his children, recounted that his relative asked Phillips, “What are you doing here? Who are you? Does anybody else know you’re here?” McOviney noted that the boy responded, “Only you,” before they continued walking. He described Phillips as having a large beard, looking “bush savvy,” and carrying a gun.
Several reports have emerged regarding Phillips since his disappearance, including allegations of robberies believed to have been committed in the Waikato region. In September 2023, an arrest warrant was issued following an alleged armed robbery at a bank in the remote village of Te Kuiti in May. Police allege that Phillips fled the scene on a black farm-style motorbike.
New Zealand Police are urging the public to provide any information regarding Phillips and his children as the search continues.