A fugitive father who was discovered with his three children in the desert three years after disappearing is wanted for a bank robbery from which a man and a younger accomplice escaped on a bicycle.
Tom Phillips, along with his daughter Jayda, now 11, his son Maverick, 9, and his youngest daughter Ember, 8, disappeared from the New Zealand town of Marokopa in December 2021.
It has been revealed that the father-of-three is wanted for questioning over an alleged armed robbery of a bank in Te Kuiti, near Marokopa, in September 2023, with police warning the public not to approach Phillips.
CCTV footage of the alleged armed robbery showed a man on a motorbike, but a smaller accomplice sitting on the back. They were both dressed head to toe in black clothing. Police said the second robbery suspect was a woman.
This comes after a video taken earlier this month showed Phillips and his children walking through the wilderness in camouflage gear on New Zealand’s North Island.
Tom Phillips (pictured), along with his daughter Jayda, now 11, his son Maverick, 9, and his youngest daughter Ember, 8, disappeared from the New Zealand town of Marokopa in December 2021.
CCTV footage of the alleged armed robbery showed a man on a motorbike, but a smaller accomplice sitting on the back. They were both dressed head to toe in black clothing. Police said the second robbery suspect was a woman.
A father and his three children who had not been seen for three years were spotted on the west coast of New Zealand (pictured)
“Recent developments in our ongoing investigations have led police to charge Mr Phillips with aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding and unlawful possession of a firearm,” confirmed New Zealand Police Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders. .
He told a local media. 1news: ‘In May, police appealed for information after two people entered a bank on Rora Street, Te Kuiti, and demanded cash.
‘Both were armed and fled the scene on a black, farm-style motorcycle. We have yet to identify the other person involved.
A witness told local media that the perpetrators dropped money while fleeing the bank.
They said a woman picked up the money and called the robbers to tell them they had dropped the money, prompting the smaller of the two to run back and snatch the money from her hand.
There have been several “unverified” sightings of Phillips since then, until the
Footage filmed on October 3 showed four figures dressed in camouflage and carrying heavy backpacks – an adult a few steps ahead of three children – as they walked single file through hills outside Marokopa on the North Island.
The video, filmed by pig hunters, was handed over to police, prompting an extensive search of farmland in the area, with no sign of the group found.
The children’s mother, named only Catherine, watched the video and said she is delighted and relieved to see her three “babies” alive.
“I’m very happy they’re all there,” Catherine told the New Zealand Herald. ‘I feel very relieved to see my three babies. They are all alive.
Pictured above is one of many suspicious Phillips sightings, this one at a Bunnings Warehouse store in Te Rapa, Hamilton, last August.
Catherine said she saw Phillips at Bunnings, a hardware and DIY store in New Zealand, in August last year and sent a photo of the car he was driving to police.
The photo above is a screenshot from a news report in New Zealand showing the car Phillips allegedly drove in August 2023.
Investigations are ongoing and Inspector Saunders confirmed the sighting was deemed “credible”.
“Although nothing more significant was located, investigators will now evaluate the information collected to determine next steps,” he said.
“This is the first time all three children have been seen, which is positive information and we know it will be reassuring for the children’s entire family.”
He added on October 8: ‘Investigators received information at around 7pm on Thursday that Tom had been seen in a bush area west of Coutts Road in Marokopa with Jayda, Maverick and Ember. This was a credible sighting and police believe it was indeed Tom and his children.
“Patrols began in the area on Thursday night and a search was launched the following morning.”
Phillips and her three young children first disappeared on September 11, 2021.
Police and emergency services along with hundreds of volunteers and locals spent days searching for the family after Phillips’ ute was found below the high tide mark on Kiritehere beach.
About 18 days later they returned to the family farm and their relatives revealed that they had spent the time living in a tent in dense bush.
However, months later they disappeared again, with the last sighting of the father and his three children being on December 9, 2021.
Phillips failed to appear in court in January 2022 on charges of causing a waste of police personnel and resources, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
In June of this year, a reward of $80,000 was offered for information that could locate the three children; However, the reward expired after eight weeks with no results despite more than 40 sightings deemed significant by agents.
Despite there having been numerous suspicious sightings of Phillips with his children, police have been unable to locate the group.
Catherine shared a photo of herself and the three children celebrating her eldest daughter Jayden’s birthday.
Catherine has made a desperate plea for the return of her children who have been missing for two and a half years.
Inspector Saunders said police believe he received help while fleeing.
“Immunity from prosecution will be considered for anyone found to have committed a crime by assisting Tom Phillips, if they provide information or evidence leading to the location and safe return of the children,” he said in June.
Catherine previously accused Mr Phillips of child endangerment and deprivation.
“Ember is asthmatic like me and needs medical care that cannot be provided from Earth,” he said.
‘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. It’s child neglect, it’s child abandonment, it’s child abuse. My babies deserve better.’
Catherine said she saw Phillips at Bunnings, a hardware and DIY store in New Zealand, in August last year and sent a photo of the car he was driving to police.
CCTV footage shows a man, believed to be Phillips, wearing a hat, glasses and a mask, entering the store with a shopping cart.