A mother who has not seen her young children for more than two and a half years has shared a handwritten letter from their fugitive father, who is believed to have kidnapped them.
The woman, who wants to be known simply as Catherine, is desperate to reunite with Jayda, 11, Maverick, 9, and Ember, 8, who disappeared along with her father Thomas Phillips from the small New Zealand town of Marokopa in December 2021. .
Hours after issuing an emotional public appeal, Catherine shared photos of Phillips’ two-page note along with snaps from Jayda’s last birthday when the family was together.
It is not known when the letter was sent.
In the letter, which appears to have been crumpled, Phillips asks for forgiveness and for Catherine to take him back.
Catherine has shared a note written by her ex-partner Thomas Philips as she continues to wait to be reunited with her children.
Catherine shared a photo of herself and the three children celebrating her eldest daughter Jayden’s birthday.
“I don’t know what to say or do to help you forgive me,” the letter begins.
Phillips states that he is not desperate “to be with someone, otherwise I would have done it”, but that he just wants Catherine back.
“I want to be with you Catherine, the woman I have been in love with for seven years,” he wrote.
‘I can’t force you to forgive me, only you can make that decision.
He goes on to say that “I’m sorry for everything I’ve said or done to hurt you.”
‘These last nine months I have suffered every day knowing that I should have handled things better and knowing that I screwed up.
Thomas Phillips (pictured) has been on the run for two and a half years and continues to evade authorities.
‘You have a beautiful personality and the happiest years of my life are thanks to you.
‘I don’t feel complete without you. I hope you can remember the man you fell in love with and know that I make multiple mistakes, I have a good heart and I have good intentions.’
Catherine posted on social media that she decided to share the letter to show that “not everything is as it seems.”
The letter comes just two days after Catherine made a desperate video asking for help to reunite with her children.
“I stand here before you today, begging you to help me bring my babies home,” Cat pleaded in the video.
“They are just innocent children, they don’t deserve to be treated this way, they don’t deserve the life that is being given to them right now.”
The request was particularly poignant coming on what would have been Jayda’s 11th birthday.
“She will be a young woman now and she needs her mother,” Cat explained, through tears, in the Facebook video distributed by New Zealand police.
Despite there having been numerous suspicious sightings of Phillips with his children, police have been unable to locate the group.
A reward of $80,000 was also announced for information leading to the safe return of the children, whose disappearance was reported by relatives in January 2022.
Although police followed numerous reports of sightings of his father Luke Phillips, sometimes with his children, in the region around Marokopa, which is about three hours’ drive south of Auckland on the island’s west coast North, all four remain elusive.
Cat accused Mr Phillips of child endangerment and deprivation.
“Ember is asthmatic like me and needs medical care that cannot be provided from Earth,” Cat stated.
‘Many of you say that the children are well and that they are well cared for.
‘How do you know? Have you seen them? Or is it just quackery?
‘What Thomas is doing is not right. It is not okay to divide and conquer, isolate and control.
One of many suspicious sightings of Mr Phillips, this one at a Bunnings Warehouse store in Te Rapa, Hamilton, last August.
‘It’s child neglect, it’s child abandonment, it’s child abuse. My babies deserve better.’
The police said Stuff who have had more than 100 new reports of information about Mr. Phillips
Police consider nearly half of those reports worthy of further scrutiny.
While the area around Marokopa remains the focus, police are also carrying out search investigations in the surrounding areas of Honikiwi and Otorohanga.
Police are urging anyone who has observed recent suspicious behavior in these areas to come forward.
In January, police said they believed they had limited their search to an area where they had credible reason to believe Phillips lived with his children.
“We believe Tom and the children are hiding in Western Waikato within Marokopa or surrounding areas,” Acting Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders said.
Catherine has made a desperate plea for the return of her children who have been missing for two and a half years.
“Although the environment is challenging for investigators, we continue to dedicate resources to this operation and follow up on all reported sightings.”
However, Phillips continues to avoid the police.
Phillips, a capable hunter with a deep knowledge of the bush, was last seen on grainy CCTV in November last year allegedly attempting to rob a shop in Piopio, in the Waitomo district, with another individual.
Dressed in military-style combat gear, pulled-back caps and masks covering their faces, the two figures can be seen exiting a red quad bike before approaching the store window.
Phillips then allegedly vandalized the front of the store before fleeing when the alarm sounded.
“We continue to review existing evidence and new information and appeal to the community to pass on any details that may help reunite the three children with their family,” a police spokesperson said at the time.