An aerial photograph showing metal containers fitted with power cords and what appears to be a generator has intensified questions about how fugitive father Tom Phillips and his three children survived for almost four years in New Zealand’s rugged bush before the family was found this week.
Phillips, 38, was shot dead by police near the rural town of Piopio in the North Island’s Waikato region on Monday after he was intercepted with his eldest daughter following an alleged armed robbery at a farm-supply store. Police said officers deployed road spikes and Phillips opened fire at close range, fatally shooting at police before being shot. One officer was critically injured with a gunshot wound to the head.
The image was captured during a helicopter fly-over reported by the New Zealand Herald on Thursday and shows three large white metal containers fitted with what look like power cords, wires, ducting pipe and a piece of equipment that could be a generator. Police have not confirmed whether the site is linked to Phillips or whether the fittings provided electricity. Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders said authorities were treating the presence of a firearm and other equipment seriously and were focusing on identifying any people who might have helped the family evade detection.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said negotiators were "very highly trained and skilled" and praised 12-year-old Jayda, who was with Phillips when he was intercepted, for assisting officers in contacting her younger siblings without making them feel threatened. Jayda was not taken into bush to lead police, Commissioner Chambers said; she was kept close enough to assist but far enough away to protect her safety.
After the initial confrontation, Jayda directed police to a campsite about 2 kilometres from the shootout where her younger siblings, Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9, were found hiding. A second campsite was later located about 200 metres away. Police said the sites appeared to be temporary and that Phillips was likely mobile, moving across numerous campsites; so far investigators have only confirmed two sites.
Photographs released by police of the main campsite show a shelter constructed from tree branches and tarpaulins alongside a metal container, gas bottles, drink containers, cooking equipment, tyres and other supplies. Officers towed from the scene a quad bike that was stocked with animal feed, a motorbike and several farm bikes. Other recovered items included an air compressor, power tools, camping poles, a toilet bowl and a large pile of debris.
Saunders said the scale and variety of equipment seized had strengthened police suspicions that Phillips had outside assistance. "Aside from the burglaries we are now able to link to Tom, it is apparent that he had outside help," he told reporters. Police announced they had linked Phillips to a number of burglaries and other thefts in the area during the years he and the children were missing.
Phillips vanished from the small settlement of Marokopa in December 2021 with his children amid a custody dispute. He did not have legal custody when he disappeared. The family’s disappearance revived memories of an earlier incident in 2021 when a truck belonging to Phillips was found on a beach and the family later emerged after 17 days in the forest; Phillips was charged with wasting police resources but disappeared again before a court appearance.
He was later wanted in connection with an armed bank robbery in 2023 in which police allege he was accompanied by one of his children and in which a member of the public was shot at as he fled. CCTV footage has placed him in the region committing break-ins to steal supplies, police said.
All three children have been taken into the care of the Ministry for Children, Oranga Tamariki. Their mother, Christine Christey, known as Cat, said on Monday she was relieved the ordeal had ended and looked forward to welcoming the children home. "They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years," she said, adding that the family was saddened by how events unfolded.
Police have offered rewards in the past as they searched the local area and believed the family had remained close to Marokopa, a tiny rural community. Commissioner Chambers said it was "highly likely" search teams had been close to the family's locations on multiple occasions. A High Court judge on Monday issued a temporary injunction restricting police and media from disclosing certain details of the case while authorities manage the welfare and recovery of the children.
Investigators will now concentrate on piecing together how the family fed and sheltered themselves in challenging terrain and on identifying any people who may have assisted Phillips. Police cautioned that while the aerial images and seized items raise questions about outside assistance, formal links have yet to be established and inquiries are ongoing.
New Zealand’s Police Minister Mark Mitchell said authorities were coordinating a careful plan to ensure the children received appropriate care and support. "They have seen and been exposed to things that children in our country should not be," he said. Police have appealed for anyone with information about suspected assistance to contact investigators as the probe continues.