Law enforcement will now try to “put the puzzle together” of how the family lived, found food and avoided detection by searchers for so many years.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Hidden within the thick forests of New Zealand, a clandestine campsite served as the last refuge for a New Zealand man on the run, along with his three children, who had disappeared from sight for several years.
On Tuesday, following the death of Tom Phillips, who was shot by police, and the subsequent recovery of his children — now 9, 10, and 12 years old — from their life in the wilderness since December 2021, officials conceded that the narrative was far from straightforward.
The task now for law enforcement is to “piece together the puzzle” of how the family managed to survive, source food, and remain undetected by search parties for such an extended period, according to New Zealand’s Police Commissioner Richard Chambers during a press briefing.
Photographs released by police showing the campsite — littered with items like soda cans, tires, and a metal container among camouflaged possessions — revealed scant information. Authorities noted that the site seemed temporary, yet it was an area previously scoured by search teams.
“It’s highly likely that we’ve been very, very close,” Chambers said. “If not right there.”
A shoot-out before dawn ended the search
An early morning altercation on Monday concluded a lengthy saga that has captivated the nation and captured international attention. Phillips, alongside one of his children, was intercepted by a police officer following a robbery at an agricultural supply store in Waitomo, a quaint town on New Zealand’s North Island.
The police officer was shot at close range and would require a series of surgeries, officials said. He was expected to survive.
Additional officers soon arrived, resulting in Phillips being shot fatally. The child with him was taken into custody and subsequently assisted law enforcement in locating the campsite, where the remaining children awaited.
The cache of belongings there included guns, officials said.
Police will seek to identify those who helped Phillips
Investigators always believed that since Phillips disappeared in December 2021, he and his children had never traveled far from the tiny rural settlement where they lived in the sprawling farming region of Waikato. But despite the offer of a sizeable reward, no one turned them in.
On Tuesday Chambers said officers would seek to uncover the identities of “anybody who may have been helping Mr. Phillips.”
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.
“I can tell you he is no hero,” Chambers said Tuesday. “No one who does this to children, no one who unleashes high-powered rifles on my staff, is a hero, simple as that.”
Family had a history of disappearance
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.
Few details of children’s welfare divulged
Officials didn’t disclose Tuesday any details of the children’s whereabouts after their rescue. The child protective services agency was involved.
“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,” New Zealand’s Police Minister Mark Mitchell told reporters.
A High Court judge on Monday issued a temporary injunction that bars officials or news outlets from disclosing certain details of the case.
“They have seen and been exposed to things that children in our country should not be,” Mitchell said. “It’s very complicated and it’s very complex and it has been for quite some time.”
Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
