Family of fugitives on the run with children plead for the return

The family of a father who disappeared with his three children in the wilderness of New Zealand almost four years ago pleaded for him to go home.

National research has been underway for Tom Phillips since he took Ember, Nine, Maverick, 10, and Jayda, 12, far from their family home in December 2021 after a dispute with their mother.

They were seen in public for the first time since the disappearance last October, when a group of adolescents spotted them in the bush and filmed the meeting.

For the first time since their disappearance, Mr. Phillips’ family called him directly, with his mother writing: “Every day, I wake up and I hope that today will be the day you all come home.”

“There is a lot of love and there is a lot of support, and we are ready to help you browse what you need to walk you,” said his sister, Rozzi Phillips, in New Zealand News Site Stuff in an exclusive interview.

“I miss you and I get bored to be part of your life, and I really want to see you and the children and be part of your life.”

Ms. Phillips said that her brother was a capable manufacturer who, she said, would have built a hut or a “nest” in the bush as shelter.

She also provided stuff with a handwritten note from their mother, Julia, who read

“Jayda, Maverick, Ember – I love you so much and I really fail to be part of your life.”

Police think that Mr. Phillips and his children hid and camped in the western region of the north island and last year, posted a reward of $ 80,000 NZ (£ 37,200) for information on their location.

There were occasional observations of the family, especially in October when a group of teenage pig hunters who had traveled a saved area of Marokopa – a tiny coastal community where Mr. Phillips is from them and filmed the meeting on their phones.

In the video, Tom Phillips can be seen driving his children through the rugged field. They all wear camouflaged clothes.

The New Zealand media reported that adolescents had briefly spoken to one of their children – asking if someone knew they were there. The child had replied “only you” and continued to walk, the father of one of the teenagers said 1news from New Zealand.

The teenagers reported that Mr. Phillips had brought a firearm and had a long beard while the children were masked and wore their own bags.

The New Zealand police described observation as “credible”. This caused an unsuccessful three -day research involving police and army helicopters.

Last year, a mandate mandate was issued for the arrest of Mr. Phillips for his presumed involvement in a bank flight in Te Kuiti, a small town on the northern island.

Police said he had an accomplice at the alleged incident and warned the audience against him because he was probably armed.

Police said they thought Mr. Phillips was helped in his escape from the law by other parties.