New Search Launched for Dad on the Run With 3 Kids

New Zealand police have launched a new search for a fugitive father believed to be hiding in the wilderness with his three children, of whom he doesn't have custody. Tom Phillips disappeared with Jayda, 11, Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9, more than three years ago. Last October, witnesses spotted Phillips dressed in camouflage and carrying a gun, leading the children through the Waikato region of the upper North Island. Authorities searched the area over three days, finding nothing of significance. On Wednesday, police said they'd be searching the rural communities of Te Waitere and Te Maika, north of the quiet coastal settlement of Marokopa, from which Phillips' family hails.

The location is around 13 miles from where the family was last sighted. "This has not been prompted by any specific sighting—it is simply a continuation of the ongoing investigation," Detective Senior Sergeant Andy Saunders said, per CNN. Phillips was initially wanted for failing to appear in court on charges of wasting police resources, stemming from a 2021 police search launched when Phillips and the children disappeared for nearly three weeks. The group reappeared, only to vanish again less than three months later. Phillips has since been accused of additional crimes, including a May 2023 bank robbery and an attempted burglary.

Amid rumors that Phillips was receiving help from community members, police offered an $80,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of the children last June, per the Guardian. The sighting south of Marokopa came a few months later. In February, police were informed of another possible sighting off of State Highway 4, but they ultimately ruled it out, per 1News. The area that police are now searching is marked by rugged terrain, with dense forest, steep hills, deep valleys, and limestone cave networks, per CNN. "Police will be present in the wider Marokopa area over the next few days as we continue making inquiries into the whereabouts of Tom Phillips and his three children," Saunders said, per the Guardian. (More New Zealand stories.)