The two Kiwi teenagers who spotted a runaway father and his three children who have been missing for almost three years have revealed what they said.
The two Hamilton students were hunting pigs on their grandfather's remote farm in Waikato in the north of the country when they spotted Tom Phillips and his children – Jayda, 11, Maverick, 9, and Ember, 8 – on October 3.
The father and his children disappeared from Marokopa in December 2021 and although hundreds of sightings of Phillip have been reported to police, footage filmed by the teenagers is the most credible.
The 16-year-olds initially believed the group were poachers and called out to them from about 60 meters away when Jayda responded.
'I said, 'That's private property,' and she said, 'Yeah… duh.' So I asked: “Does anyone know you’re here” and she said: “No, just you”, recalled one of the boys. Thing.
The family continued walking towards Marokopa, about 4 kilometers north of the coastal farm, and did not appear to be in danger.
However, the boys were hesitant to try to continue the conversation after seeing that Phillips was armed.
All four members of the group were seen wearing camouflage and carrying large backpacks.
Tom Phillips and his children (pictured) were spotted on a remote coastal farm by two teenagers on October 3
The children's mother, Catherine (pictured together), previously accused Mr Phillips of endangering the children and depriving them
The boys remembered the children wearing hoods and Phillips' large beard with gray tips.
Phillips walked about 10 yards ahead of his children, who marched in single file behind him.
One of the teenagers said he decided to film the family because “that's exactly what you do when you're poaching.”
Only later did they realize that the group could be the missing family.
Fortunately, they were in an area with telephone reception and quickly called their grandfather, John McOviney.
After seeing the video, McOviney was sure the group was Phillips and his children, so he called the police.
The two teenagers ran home, where they were questioned by police for about 10 minutes.
McOviney recalled that officers set up checkpoints on nearby roads, but said they “could have been a lot quicker” in mounting a search.
Investigations are ongoing, with New Zealand Police Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders confirming the sighting was being 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.'
The father and his three children first disappeared 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 weeks later in January 2022 on charges of causing waste of police personnel and resources, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
He is now also wanted for questioning over an alleged armed bank robbery in Te Kuiti, near Marokopa, in September 2023.
The armed robbery prompted police to warn the public not to approach Phillips.
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.
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.
The children's mother, Catherine, previously accused Mr Phillips of endangering and depriving the 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 okay. 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.
McOviney decided to make the family video public after becoming frustrated with police secrecy.
“What bothered me about the police was that they wanted to keep everything internal – I think people deserve to know,” he said.
Teenagers remembered the kids wearing hoodies and Phillips' big beard (pictured) with gray tips
New Zealand Police said they did not share the video because it was evidence of an ongoing investigation.
The grandfather also shared a lot of information about the police search.
Around 50 police officers, assisted by two helicopters, invaded the property and reportedly found a motorcycle on the edge of the farm, but were unable to confirm whether it was used by the family.
McOviney also dismissed theories that the father and children could be hiding in farmhouses on the 3,400-hectare property.
“You need to know the code to access them… there are no broken windows, so they didn’t use them,” he said.
McOviney added that Phillips was an “intelligent bushman” who knew how to survive in rough terrain.
“If he knocked down a sheep, a goat, a deer or a pig, we would never know,” he said.
