New Zealand police on Wednesday said they are investigating a puzzling discovery of shoeboxes after officers shot dead fugitive father Tom Phillips following a predawn confrontation in the upper North Island that ended a nearly four-year manhunt.
Phillips, who vanished from the rural town of Marokopa in December 2021 with his three children following a custody dispute, was killed by police after an exchange of gunfire on Monday morning. A lone officer was shot in the head and shoulder in the confrontation and underwent surgery; police described his injuries as serious.
Police said the shooting occurred after Phillips and his 12-year-old daughter, Jayda, were sighted stealing from a PGG Wrightson farm supply store in Piopio at about 2:30 a.m. on Monday. The pair fled on a quad bike and were stopped roughly 33 kilometres away on Te Anga Road by police road spikes at about 3:30 a.m., police said. Phillips then confronted an officer and shot him. When additional officers arrived and returned fire, Phillips died at the scene.
Jayda was taken into custody; her siblings, Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9, were found at a campsite about two kilometres from the shooting site and rescued a short time later. Photos released by police showed basic, improvised living conditions at the campsite, with blankets and quad bikes among trees and supplies strewn on the ground.
Investigators recovered multiple firearms at the campsite and described the presence of several shoeboxes on Phillips' quad bike as a "very interesting" and unexplained detail. "One of the things that we'll be doing is obviously connecting the dots and trying to better understand where equipment, clothing, whatever it may be, has come from," Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told reporters. He said police will work over the coming months to determine whether others were involved in helping Phillips remain concealed.
Chambers said Jayda provided "vital information to ensure a safe approach" in locating her siblings but was not brought to the campsite by police because doing so would have exposed her to risk. "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," he said.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell described the situation as dangerous and said the children had been exposed to things they should not have been. "They have seen and been exposed to things that children in our country should not be," Mitchell said, adding that there would be a co-ordinated plan to provide long-term support for the children.
Oranga Tamariki regional commissioner Warwick Morehu said the children were settled and receiving care. "They are settled, they are comfortable. They are together," he said, and added that support would be provided for however long it was needed. It was reported that the children have not yet been reunited with their mother, identified in media reports as Cat.
Phillips' body was removed from the scene and a post-mortem examination has been scheduled, Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said. Police confirmed an investigation into the sequence of events and the provenance of the firearms and supplies is under way.
Phillips and his children disappeared from public view in December 2021 after a custody dispute. Despite an NZ$80,000 reward and multiple search operations, the family is believed to have lived in the wilderness for almost four years. Officials have said Phillips had skills in wilderness survival and that increased patrols in the area had led police to suspect he had assistance in remaining hidden.
The case divided communities in parts of the North Island, including the small settlement of Marokopa, where some residents expressed sympathy for Phillips, while authorities said he was wanted for several alleged crimes. Phillips faced earlier charges related to an incident in which his truck was found abandoned on a beach in 2021. He was later wanted in connection with an alleged armed bank robbery in 2023 and linked to a series of break-ins and thefts in rural areas, according to police.
Chambers said the campsite located by police was basic and movable, and that officers expect to find additional sites as the investigation continues. He also said inquiries will seek to establish how Phillips acquired multiple high-powered firearms and whether anyone else helped him.
Cat, the mother of the children, said in a statement on Monday she was relieved the ordeal had ended and looked forward to welcoming her children home, while expressing sadness at how events unfolded. Police emphasised that the investigation into the confrontation, the origins of the recovered equipment and firearms, and any wider criminality will continue in the coming weeks and months.