New images have surfaced revealing the hidden reality of the New Zealand father who spent nearly four years on the run with his three young children, managed to evade police before his fatal confrontation with officers earlier this week.
Tom Phillips, 45, vanished into the rugged Waikato wilderness with his children, Jayda, 12, Maverick, 10, and Ember, nine, in December 2021, following a custody dispute with their mother, Cat.
The disappearance sparked a nationwide search, with police and volunteers combing the dense forests.
Sightings of the family were few and far between, and it was unclear whether the children were even alive.
The search, which had lasted for years, ended on the morning of Monday, September 8, when Phillips attempted to burgle a rural farm supply store in Piopio.
Police were called to the scene after two individuals on a quad bike, dressed in farm gear and wearing headlamps, fled with stolen items.
Officers set up spikes to stop the bike, but Phillips, the driver, turned and opened fire, critically injuring one officer.
A tense standoff ensued, and Phillips was fatally shot.
His daughter, Jayda, was found at the scene, and later, with her help, police located Maverick and Ember at a nearby campsite.
Thankfully, the children were unharmed and were taken for medical checks.
In the aftermath, photos have emerged shedding light on how Phillips managed to stay hidden for so long in the wilderness.
The images show several makeshift campsites set up in the dense bush, illustrating the late man’s survival skills.
One of the pictures features a camouflaged quad bike - likely used to cover vast distances or escape pursuit, something that New Zealand Police Commissioner Richard Chambers confirmed had happened on multiple occasions.
"Over the past four years, we have covered this terrain a lot. It’s highly likely that we’ve been very, very close," Chambers said, noting the challenging terrain and Phillips' ability to stay ahead of law enforcement.
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Local business owners familiar with the region also spoke about the difficulty of finding Phillips in such dense, broken terrain.
One local described it as "It’s incredibly dense, dense bush. It’s all limestone country, and so there are very few open streams. It’s all kind of really broken terrain," making it easy to hide.
“We’ve got no idea where the place is. We’ve been looking for four years. We’re all wondering where on earth this place might be," they said.
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The tragic end to the search has left the tight-knit rural community in shock.
Waitomo mayor John Robertson called the outcome “the worst possible,” while Prime Minister Christopher Luxon expressed deep sorrow, stating, "This is not what anybody wanted to happen today."
Jayda, who played a crucial role in leading police to her siblings, has since been reunited with her mother.
Her mother, Cat, expressed relief but also heartbreak, stating: “Our hope has always been that the children could be returned in a peaceful and safe way for everyone involved."
"They have endured a long and difficult journey, and we ask for privacy as we help them adjust and reintegrate into a stable and loving environment," she added, per The Guardian.