The New Zealand government department tasked with safeguarding children has been readying itself for years to support fugitive Tom Phillips’ children once they were located.

Oranga Tamariki, also called the Ministry for Children in New Zealand, is currently overseeing the care of Jayda, 12, Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9 after they were discovered on Monday, four years following their disappearance with their father.

Phillips was shot and killed by police after exchanging gunfire with an officer during a confrontation, which occurred after he broke into a store in Piopio. He had been residing in hiding with his children in the secluded wilderness of the North Island.

Warwick Morehu from Oranga Tamariki stated, “Throughout the past four years, we have collaborated with police in anticipation of finding the children and have prepared a plan for their care.”

Morehu refused to go into further details, but said the sole focus was on safeguarding the children’s privacy and wellbeing.

“While public interest in this case is expected, our obligation to protect these children’s privacy remains paramount,” Morehu emphasized.

In an interview on RNZ on Tuesday, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers shared that the campsite where Maverick and Ember were discovered was situated deep in the bush, approximately 2km from the location where Phillips was fatally shot.

Jayda was with her father when he was killed and she provided authorities with the information needed to find the other children.

She told police there were guns at the campsite where her other two siblings were staying.

Chambers said police went to the campsite and dealt with the situation cautiously, ‘because we knew that there were firearms’.

He said police ‘needed to ensure that the way we approached it yesterday continued to ensure their safety and also safety of my staff’.

‘We know Mr Phillips has been moving around this very vast region frequently, so he hasn’t stayed in one location for the entire time,’ Chambers said.

Ōtorohanga district mayor Max Baxter told 1News that ‘the police had no alternative’ but to return fire after Phillips shot at one of their officers.

Mr Baxter’s attention quickly turned to the children who will need professional help after living off the grid with their father for years after he took them following a dispute with their mother.

‘[What] the community will be thinking now is “let’s hope the children get the wrap-around support they need”,’ Mr Baxter said.

‘They (Phillips family) have a lot of recovery to do in this. They’ve lost a son, and a brother. So the family needs that time to mourn the loss of a loved one and get used to having their children, or grandchildren, back after four years.’

Phillips and his three young children disappeared from the isolated rural Waikato town of Marokopa on December 9, 2021.

But the first sighting of all three children with their father was on October 3, 2024, when they were spotted walking through Marokopa farmland.

On Tuesday, police have released images of the campsite where Maverick and Ember were found, which show quad bikes parked among the trees with blankets draped over them. Two cans of Sprite were pictured on one of the tyres, while a large container lay on the ground. 

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

‘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.’

Police said the children will be given time to settle, but conceded there would come a point when they would need to be interviewed.

The children remain in the care of authorities, who have not said whether they have been reunited with their mother, Cat.

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

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

‘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 located 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.’

He also revealed how close police had come to tracking down the missing family in previous searches.

‘Over the last four years, we have covered this terrain, this region a lot,’ Commissioner Chambers said.

‘It’s highly likely that we’ve been very, very close.’