A massive search was under way in New Zealand’s Waikato region after police shot dead a fugitive father following an alleged early-morning robbery and two of his children were reported missing, authorities said.
Tom Phillips, who disappeared from the small community of Marokopa in December 2021 with his three children, was killed on Te Anga Road about 3:30 a.m. Monday after police said he shot a constable. Phillips’s eldest child, a 12-year-old girl identified as Jayda, was taken into custody at the scene. Her siblings — Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9 — were not found and are believed to be missing in rough bushland where temperatures were expected to fall below freezing.
Police said the events began after a witness reported two people dressed in farm clothing and wearing headlamps breaking into a PGG Wrightson rural supply store in Piopio at about 2:30 a.m. The pair left the store on an all-terrain quad bike and were stopped by police road spikes roughly 33 kilometres away. A lone officer who approached the vehicle was shot in the head with what police described as a high-powered rifle. When a second police car arrived, officers shot Phillips dead.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said Jayda had been cooperative with police and had provided information that helped identify an area of activity. "We have not located them at this stage, and we remain focused on our primary goal to reunite those children and extract them as soon as possible from where they may be today," she said. "We have children that we believe are unaccompanied in the bush, and it's our priority to locate them this evening. We have about three hours of daylight left."
Rogers said more than 50 staff from specialist teams, including the Armed Offenders Squad, were searching the rugged terrain and were prepared to continue through the night. She warned the conditions were harsh and that the temperature would likely fall to freezing.
The constable who was shot was airlifted to Waikato Hospital in a critical condition but with injuries described by police as survivable. Rogers said he had undergone multiple surgeries, including treatment for injuries to his eye, and would remain in hospital for some time.
Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders said police were examining whether Phillips might have fallen out with people who had been assisting him evade capture since his disappearance amid a custody dispute with the children's mother in late 2021. Police also said they could not rule out the possibility the missing children were armed and urged caution.
Photographs and footage from the scene showed a police vehicle with a shattered windscreen and Phillips’s body on Te Anga Road beside a high-powered rifle that officers said was believed to have been used in the shooting. Road closures were in place near Piopio and were expected to remain for several days while investigators processed the scene.
Jayda has not yet been reunited with her mother, known as Cat, who issued a statement saying the family was "deeply relieved that for our tamariki this ordeal has come to an end" while expressing sadness at how events unfolded. "They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care," the statement said. Cat also expressed concern for the officer who was injured.
Phillips’s disappearance in December 2021 had drawn national attention after he vanished with his three children following a custody dispute. Police have previously appealed for information over the years without success.
Investigators said Jayda was in police custody and was assisting with inquiries. Officers continued to search the bush for Maverick and Ember, concentrating on areas identified through information provided to them. Police asked anyone with further information about movements in the area before and after the robbery to come forward.
The investigation remains active, and authorities urged the public to avoid the scene while searches and forensic examinations continued. Road spikes, specialist armed units and ambulances had been deployed to the area as officers worked to locate the missing children and to support the injured constable and the families involved.