The two New Zealand teenagers who discovered a fugitive father and his three children missing for almost three years have revealed what they talked about.
The two Hamilton schoolchildren were pig hunting on their grandfather’s remote Waikato farm in the country’s north when they saw Tom Phillips and his children (Jayda, 11, Maverick, 9, and Ember, 8), on October 3.
The father and his children had disappeared from Marokopa in December 2021 and, while hundreds of sightings of Phillip have been reported to police, the footage filmed by the teenagers is the most credible.
The 16-year-olds initially believed the group were poachers and called out to them from approximately 60 meters away when Jayda answered.
“I said, ‘This is private property,’ and she said, ‘Yeah… right.’ Then I asked, ‘Does anyone know you’re here?’ and she said, ‘No, just you,'” one of them recalled. the boys. Stuff.
The family continued walking in the direction of Marokopa, about 4 kilometers north of the coastal farm, and did not appear to be in any danger.
However, the boys hesitated to try to continue talking after seeing that Phillips was armed.
The four members of the group were seen dressed in camouflage and carrying large backpacks.
Tom Phillips and his children (pictured) were spotted on a remote coastal farm by two teenagers on October 3.
The children’s mother, Catherine (pictured together), previously accused Mr Phillips of child endangerment and deprivation.
The children remembered the boys with hoods and Phillips’s large beard with a gray tip.
Phillips walked about 10 yards ahead of his children, who trudged single file behind him.
One of the teenagers said he decided to film the family because “that’s what you do when you deal with poachers.”
Only later did they realize that the group could be the missing family.
Fortunately, they were in an area with telephone reception and quickly called their grandfather, John McOviney.
After watching the video, McOviney was sure the group was Phillips and his children, so he called the police.
The two teens ran home, where they were questioned by police for about 10 minutes.
McOviney recalled that officers set up checkpoints on nearby roads, but said they “could have been a lot quicker” if they had initiated a search.
Investigations are ongoing and New Zealand Police Detective Inspector Andrew 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.”
The father and his three young children disappeared for the first time 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 weeks later in January 2022, accused of causing a waste of police personnel and resources, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
He is now also wanted for questioning over an alleged armed robbery of a bank in Te Kuiti, near Marokopa, in September 2023.
The armed robbery prompted police to warn the public not to approach Phillips.
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.
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.
The children’s mother, 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.’
McOviney decided to make the family video public after becoming frustrated by police secrecy.
“What bothered me about the police was that they wanted to keep everything at home; I think people deserve to know that,” he said.
Teenagers remembered boys with hoods and Phillips’ large beard (pictured) with a gray tip.
New Zealand police said they did not share the video because it was evidence of an ongoing investigation.
The grandfather also shared several details about the police search.
About 50 officers, assisted by two helicopters, invaded the property and reportedly found a motorcycle at the edge of the farm, but could not confirm whether it was used by the family.
McOviney also dismissed theories that the father and sons could be hiding in cottages on the 3,400 hectare property.
“You have to know the code to get in… there are no broken windows, so they haven’t used them,” he said.
McOviney added that Phillips was an “intelligent bushman” who knew how to survive in rugged land.
“If he took down a sheep, a goat, a deer or a pig, we would never know,” he said.
