Three children who had been missing for about four years and believed to have been living with their fugitive father were found safe on Monday after their father, Tom Phillips, was killed in a shootout with police in New Zealand’s Waikato region.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said the children were discovered at a campsite at about 4:30 p.m. and were "well and uninjured." She said they were alone at the time and were cooperating with officers. The children have been identified in media reports as Jayda, 12; Maverick, 10; and Ember, 9.
Police said the discovery followed an early-morning incident in which Phillips was shot dead after a confrontation with officers during what police described as an attempted burglary. A witness called police after seeing two people, reported to be Phillips and his daughter, dressed in farm clothing and wearing headlamps entering a PGG Wrightson rural supply store in Piopio at about 2:30 a.m., according to police statements.
The pair reportedly fled the scene on an all-terrain vehicle. Officers deployed road spikes approximately 33 kilometres away on Te Anga Road at about 3:30 a.m. A lone constable who stopped the vehicle was shot in the head with a high-powered rifle, police said. When a second police vehicle arrived, Phillips was shot and later died at the scene. Jayda was taken into custody at that time.
The other two children were not with Phillips after the shooting, prompting an urgent search that concluded when they were located at the campsite in the afternoon. Acting Deputy Commissioner Rogers said the children would be taken for medical checks.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers praised the work of officers involved in the search and in the early-morning response, saying the outcome reflected "incredible work by police who had to contend with a high-risk situation and difficult circumstances both earlier this morning and throughout the day." He also acknowledged the injured officer, saying the colleague "faces a long recovery."
The male constable was airlifted to hospital in critical condition and has undergone what police described as the first of multiple surgeries after being shot multiple times.
Family members at the Phillips family farm in Marokopa reacted angrily when approached by media. Neville Phillips, Tom Phillips’s father, told reporters, "You don't know what it's like to be shafted by the cops several times. Just put yourself in our shoes," according to a local news outlet. Ben Phillips, Tom’s brother, also criticised police when contacted at the farm.
Police said inquiries into the attempted burglary, the shooting of the officer and the circumstances of the children's disappearance and recovery remain ongoing. Authorities have not provided further detail about the length of time the children were living with their father beyond saying they had been missing for about four years, nor about any prior investigations involving Phillips.
The discovery brings an end to a multi-year search for the children that began after they were reported missing, authorities said. Police declined to provide further operational details while the investigation and related welfare checks continued.