A fugitive father who was seen with his three children in the desert three years after disappearing is wanted in connection with a bank robbery where a man and an underage accomplice escaped on bicycles.
Tom Phillips, along with daughter Jayda, now 11, son Maverick, 9, and youngest daughter Ember, 8, disappeared from the New Zealand town of Marokopa in December 2021.
It has been revealed that the father of three is wanted for questioning over an alleged armed bank robbery in Te Kuiti, near Marokopa, in September 2023, with police warning the public and not approaching Phillips.
CCTV footage of the alleged armed robbery showed a man on a motorbike but a minor accomplice sitting on the back. Both were dressed from head to toe in black clothing. According to police, the second suspect in the robbery was a woman.
It comes after a video taken earlier this month showed Phillips and his children walking through nature in camouflage gear on New Zealand's North Island.
Tom Phillips (pictured), along with daughter Jayda, now 11, son Maverick, 9, and youngest daughter Ember, 8, disappeared from the New Zealand town of Marokopa in December 2021
CCTV footage of the alleged armed robbery showed a man on a motorbike but a minor accomplice sitting on the back. Both were dressed from head to toe in black clothing. According to police, the second suspect in the robbery was a woman.
A father and three children who hadn't been seen for three years have been spotted on the west coast of New Zealand (photo)
“Recent developments in our ongoing investigations have led police to charge Mr Phillips with aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding and unlawful possession of a firearm,” New Zealand Police Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders confirmed.
He told local outlet 1news: 'In May, police appealed for information after two people entered a bank in Rora Street, Te Kuiti, and demanded money.
“Both were armed and fled the scene on a black farm-style motorcycle. We have not yet identified the other person involved.
A witness told local media that the perpetrators dropped money as they fled the bank.
They said a woman grabbed the money and shouted at the thieves to tell them they had dropped the money, which caused the younger of the two to run back and snatch the money from her hand.
There have been several “unverified” sightings of Phillips since then, until the
Footage filmed on October 3 showed four figures in camouflage gear with heavy backpacks – one adult a few steps ahead of three children – as they walked in single file through the hills outside Marokopa on the North Island.
The video, filmed by pig hunters, was handed over to the police, which prompted a large search of agricultural land in the region, which found no sign of the group.
The children's mother, identified only as Catherine, saw the video and said she was delighted and relieved to see her three “babies” alive.
“I’m so happy everyone was there,” Catherine told the New Zealand Herald. 'I'm so relieved to see my three babies. They are all alive.
The photo above is one of many reports of suspicious sightings of Phillips, this one at a Bunnings Warehouse store in Te Rapa, Hamilton, last August.
Catherine said she saw Phillips in Bunnings, a DIY and hardware store in New Zealand, in August last year and sent police a photo of the car he was driving.
The photo above is a screenshot from a news report in New Zealand showing the car Phillips allegedly drove in August 2023
Investigations are ongoing, with Inspector Saunders confirming the sighting was treated as “credible”.
“While nothing further significant was located, investigators will now evaluate the information collected to determine next steps,” he said.
'This is the first time that all three children have been sighted, which is positive information, and we know it will be reassuring for the children's wider family.'
He added on October 8: 'Investigators received information at around 7pm on Thursday that Tom had been seen in a wooded 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 evening and a search was launched the following morning.'
Phillips and her three children first went missing on September 11, 2021.
Police and emergency services, along with hundreds of volunteers and local residents, spent days searching for the family after Phillips' car was found below the high tide mark on Kiritehere beach.
Around 18 days later, they returned to the family farm with relatives, revealing that they had spent the time living in a tent in dense forest.
However, months later they disappeared again, with the last sighting of the father and his three children on December 9, 2021.
Phillips failed to appear in court in January 2022 on charges of causing waste of police personnel and resources, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
In June of this year, a reward of $80,000 was offered for information that could locate the three children, however, this expired after eight weeks without results, despite more than 40 sightings considered significant by agents.
Despite having numerous suspected sightings of Phillips with his children, police were unable to track down the group
Catherine shared a photo of her and her three children celebrating her eldest daughter Jayden's birthday
Catherine made a desperate appeal for the return of her children, who had been missing for two and a half years.
Inspector Saunders said police believe he had help as he fled.
“Immunity from prosecution will be granted to anyone who committed an offense in assisting Tom Phillips if they provide information or evidence leading to the location and safe return of the children,” he said in June.
Catherine previously accused Mr Phillips of endangering and depriving children.
“Ember is asthmatic like me and needs medical care that cannot be provided by earth,” she said.
'Many of you say that the children are well and that they are being well looked after. How do you know? Have you seen them? Or is it just idle talk?
'What Thomas is doing is not right. It is not right to divide and conquer, isolate and control. It's child neglect, it's child abandonment, it's child abuse. My babies deserve better.
Catherine said she saw Phillips in Bunnings, a DIY and hardware store in New Zealand, in August last year and sent police a photo of the car he was driving.
CCTV footage shows a man – believed to be Phillips – wearing a hat, glasses and mask entering the store with a shopping trolley.
