New Zealand Police have revealed one key detail they can’t explain after making a strange discovery on Tom Phillips’ quad bike.

A stash of shoeboxes was discovered on Phillips’ quad bike after authorities fatally shot the fugitive father in western Waikato, located on the upper North Island, Monday morning.

Phillips, evading capture with his children – Ember, 9, Maverick, 10, and Jayda, 12 – for nearly four years, was finally tracked down following a tipped-off police about an armed robbery at a farm supply store in the small town of Piopio.

Jayda was with him at the time of the shooting, and his two younger children were rescued from a campsite two hours later.

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers on Wednesday admitted the boxes of shoes were a ‘very interesting’ detail.

‘We know that Mr Phillips has been the suspect in a number of burglaries,’ he told the NZ Herald.

“Currently, one task we are undertaking is piecing together how various items like equipment and clothing ended up at the location.”

Images taken on Tuesday from a campsite about two kilometers from where the shooting occurred revealed the tough conditions the children endured with their father.

Fugitive father Tom Phillips (pictured) was killed during a shootout with police on Monday

Police were alerted to Phillips and his daughter’s presence following an armed robbery (pictured)

Jayda was ‘very, very helpful’ in clarifying her siblings’ location, Chambers said, but she did not rejoin police at the site.

“We would have avoided having her accompany us to the campsite due to the potential risks. We absolutely refuse to expose her to any danger,” he stated.

Among the trees were parked quad bikes, with blankets covering them. Two cans of Sprite were seen on one of the tires, and a large container rested on the ground nearby.

‘Our investigation will help determine what other modes of transport he may have used or others may have helped with,’ Commissioner Chambers said.

‘No one who does this to children, no one who unleashes high-powered rifles on my staff is a hero. Simple as that.’

Police Minister Mark Mitchell added: ‘They have seen and been exposed to things that children in our country should not be.’

‘There’s a careful plan with everyone becoming involved at the right time in terms of making sure that they’re put on a really strong and healthy pathway to recovery.’

It’s understood the children have not yet been allowed to see their mother, Cat.

‘I can confirm that the children are settled, they are doing well under the circumstances and engaging with the staff,’ Oranga Tamariki regional commissioner Warwick Morehu said.

‘They are settled, they are comfortable. They are together.

Phillips and his three children (pictured) have been on the run since 2021

‘I want to assure you all that these tamariki (children) will be provided with whatever help assistance they may need for however long they may need it.’

Multiple firearms were also found at the campsite where the children were located.  

‘We are interested in how Phillips was able to access multiple firearms,’ Commissioner Chambers said.

‘There’s a lot of work to do over the next few months that will help us determine whether or not there is anybody else that’s been involved.’ 

Phillips vanished from the rural town of Marokopa on the North Island in December 2021 with his three children following a custody dispute with their mother.

Despite an NZ$80,000 reward and multiple search operations, the family had been living in the wilderness ever since.

On Monday morning, Phillips and Jayda were spotted stealing from a PGG Wrightson farm supply store in Piopio. 

A witness called police at about 2.30am, describing them as being in ‘farm clothing’ and wearing headlamps.

Officers are analysing Phillips’ campsite (pictured) and believe they will find more sites in the future

Phillips and Jayda took off on their quad bike, but were stopped by police road spikes about 33km away on Te Anga Road at 3.30am.

Phillips then confronted a lone officer and shot him in the head with a high-powered rifle. When backup arrived, police returned fire, killing Phillips. Jayda was taken into custody.

Phillips’ two other children, Maverick and Ember, were not present when he was shot, sparking an urgent bush search for the pair.

Police revealed on Monday that Jayda provided ‘vital information to ensure a safe approach’ to help find the other kids but did not attend the rescue herself.

‘We would not put her alongside us as we move forward to the campsite because that presents a risk to her, and we wouldn’t be prepared to put her in any risk at all,’ Commissioner Chambers said.

He added officers were ‘certainly confident’ they would find more campsites.

‘What we located the other day is a site that can easily be shifted,’ Commissioner Chambers said.

‘It’s fairly basic sort of living conditions, and therefore we are likely to find other things in other places, and that might suggest there’s something a bit more substantial in other places.’

Ember, 9, Maverick, 10, and Jayda, 12, have not yet been reunited with their mother, Cat (pictured together before their disappearance)

Mitchell said Phillips had ‘multiple high-powered firearms’ and was ‘very unstable in his thinking’.

‘I think the whole country has seen play out in the last 24 hours just how dangerous the situation was and how it could have ended an even worse tragedy, and that would have been the loss of one, two or three young lives,’ Mitchell said.

Commissioner Chambers said the officer shot by Phillips spent ‘a good chunk’ of Monday in surgery with serious injuries to his head and shoulder.

‘It was very, very close for him,’ he said.

Cat broke her silence in a statement on Monday, saying she was relieved the ordeal had come to an end.

‘They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care,’ she said. 

‘At the same time, we are saddened by how events unfolded today. Our hope has always been that the children could be returned in a peaceful and safe way for everyone involved.’ 

Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said the body of Phillips will undergo a post-mortem.

A police officer shot by Phillips during the standoff suffered severe head injuries (pictured, the scene of the shooting on Tuesday)

‘The body of Tom Phillips was removed from the scene late yesterday and there will be a post-mortem tomorrow, after which his body will be released to his family.’

The fugitive father was skilled in wilderness survival. But as law enforcement increased patrols in the area, the police were increasingly sure he had help remaining concealed.

The case divided New Zealand and Phillips found supporters online and among residents of the settlement of Marokopa, population 40, where he had lived. Some locals told visiting reporters that they endorsed his actions.

December 2021 wasn’t the first time Phillips and his children had vanished. Three months earlier, he sparked a massive search operation when his truck was found on a beach near his home, with no trace of the family.

Officials feared they had been swept out to sea before Phillips and the children emerged from the forest after 17 days, saying they had been camping. Phillips was charged with wasting police resources but disappeared again with the children before he was due to appear in court.

Phillips didn’t have legal custody of his children at the time he vanished. 

He was later wanted for an armed bank robbery in 2023, during which he was accompanied by one of his children and apparently shot at a member of the public as he fled.

He was spotted on CCTV footage in the area committing other break-ins to steal supplies, most recently in August. 

Beyond those thefts, it wasn’t clear how the family had survived in rugged countryside at freezing winter temperatures for years.