A New Zealand man who had been on the run with his three children for nearly four years was shot and killed by police on Monday morning, and the children were located alive and are now in the care of government authorities, police and child protection officials said.
Tom Phillips, who disappeared from Marokopa on the upper North Island in December 2021 amid a custody dispute, was fatally shot by police after an encounter near western Waikato. His daughter Jayda, 12, was with him at the time and subsequently assisted officers in locating her two siblings, Ember, 9, and Maverick, 10, at a remote campsite, officials said.
Police said the confrontation began after Phillips and Jayda were seen stealing from a PGG Wrightson farm supply store in Piopio at about 2:30 a.m. A witness described them as wearing farm clothing and headlamps. They left on a quad bike and were stopped by police using road spikes around 3:30 a.m. on Te Anga Road, roughly 33 kilometres from the initial sighting.
Authorities said Phillips then confronted a lone officer and shot him in the head with a high-powered rifle. When backup arrived, police returned fire and killed Phillips. The officer shot by Phillips underwent surgery and remained in a serious condition; New Zealand Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said the officer spent "a good chunk" of Monday in surgery and sustained serious injuries to his head and shoulder.
After the shooting, officers located the two younger children at a campsite in dense bushland. Police recovered firearms and quad bikes at the site, and examinations of the area where the shooting occurred, about 2 kilometres from the campsite, remained under way on Tuesday.
The children were placed in the care of New Zealand Police and Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry for Children. Oranga Tamariki spokesperson Warwick Morehu said the ministry had been preparing for the return of the children since they went missing and that staff were ready to support their needs. "I am constrained in the amount of information I can share," he said, noting the Family Court was actively managing the case.
The children's mother, identified only as Catherine, said she had not seen her children in nearly four years and expressed relief that the ordeal had ended, while also saying she was "saddened by how events unfolded". Speaking to Radio New Zealand, she said the family looked forward to "welcoming them home with love and care" and asked the public for privacy as authorities and the family worked toward reunification. She added that the whānau would cooperate with government agencies to support the children's safe return and reintegration.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell said the children had been exposed to "things that children in our country should not be" and warned that while they were physically safe, expert assessment would be needed to address potential trauma. Chambers and other officials said investigators would spend months establishing whether anyone else had been involved in sheltering or supporting Phillips during the period he was at large. Authorities also said the children would be given time to settle before being formally interviewed as part of the inquiry.
Phillips vanished from the rural Waikato town of Marokopa in December 2021 with Ember, Maverick and Jayda following a custody dispute. Multiple search operations and an NZ$80,000 reward for information did not lead to the family's recovery, according to media reports and police statements. For nearly four years the family lived in the wilderness, police sources said.
The case has drawn attention to the challenges of locating families living off-grid and to concerns about the welfare of children who spend extended periods isolated in remote environments. Police and child specialists noted the priority would now be the children's immediate safety, medical care and psychological support, with the Family Court overseeing legal steps to determine custody and access.
Investigators have secured the scenes in the Waikato and are continuing forensic and ballistic examinations. Police said they will provide further updates as inquiries progress and as permitted by the Family Court and child-protection processes.