Dad kidnaps his children and runs away: spotted after almost 3 years in a rural area (but they are lost again)

After almost three years of mystery, a fugitive father and his three children they were spotted in the wilderness of New Zealand. Tom Phillips passed away in December 2021 with his children, Jayda, Maverick and Ember, then aged 11, 9 and 8 respectively, after a dispute with mother of the children, Cat, who had legal custody of them.

Since then, no one had had any definitive information about their whereabouts, until a recent sighting in the Waikato region. The chance meeting occurred thanks to a group of pig hunters, including a 16-year-old teenager, who spotted the family in a rural area and briefly filmed the scene with their phone.

The four were wearing camouflage clothing, carrying heavy backpacks, and Phillips was armed with a gun. The children, from a distance, asked the hunters if anyone else was aware of their presence, and then quickly walked away into the vegetation with their father.

Phillips was already known to authorities

The police confirmed that the sighting is crediblecalling it a “positive line of inquiry.” Although the area was searched by helicopters over the following weekend, the family could not be traced. The New Zealand authorities are continuing their searches with the aim of guaranteeing the safe return of the children to their mother, who, moved, expressed relief in knowing that her children are still alive.

Phillips, who did not have legal custody, was already known to the authorities for previous episodes of crimeincluding thefts and robberies. In 2023, he was charged with aggravated robbery, during which he threatened an employee with a gun. Since then he is wanted and an $80,000 reward was offered for information leading to his arrest.

According to investigators, Phillips and his children may have lived in complete isolation all this timeoccasionally receiving outside help. Police have called on anyone with information to cooperate and stop any form of support for the fugitive. The children’s mother, meanwhile, continues to hope for her children’s quick and safe return home.