New Zealand father on the run almost 4 years with his kids shot dead by police

16 hours ago 5

Wellington, New Zealand — A antheral who evaded authorities with his 3 children successful the distant New Zealand countryside for astir 4 years was changeable and killed by a constabulary serviceman Monday, instrumentality enforcement said.

One kid was with Tom Phillips astatine the clip of the confrontation and the different 2 children were recovered successful the wood hours aft the shootout, successful which an serviceman was critically injured.

The December 2021 disappearance of Phillips and his children - present astir 9, 10 and 11 years aged - confounded investigators for years arsenic they scoured the densely forested country wherever they believed the household was hiding. The begetter and children weren't believed to ever person traveled acold from the isolated North Island agrarian colony of Marokopa wherever they lived, and credible sightings of them were rare.

Phillips hasn't been formally identified, but authorities judge helium was the antheral killed.

A constabulary serviceman was changeable successful the caput and critically injured during a confrontation with Phillips aft helium robbed an cultivation supplies store aboriginal Monday morning, New Zealand's Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Jill Rogers told reporters successful the metropolis of Hamilton. The kid with Phillips astatine the clip of the robbery was taken into custody.

The serviceman was undergoing country astatine a hospital. His injuries were survivable, Rogers said, but helium was changeable "multiple times with a high-powered rifle" and further surgeries were expected.

The whereabouts of Phillips' different 2 children were chartless instantly aft the shooting and authorities had superior concerns for them, Rogers said earlier.

About 13 hours aft their begetter was killed, however, Rogers told reporters that the children had been recovered unaccompanied astatine a distant campsite successful a rugged forest. The kid taken into custody Monday had cooperated with the authorities, enabling them to constrictive the hunt area, she said.

The workplace supplies store targeted Monday was successful a tiny municipality successful the aforesaid sprawling farming portion of Waikato, southbound of Auckland, arsenic the colony of astir 40 radical the household had vanished from.

Tom Phillips saga captivated New Zealand

The lawsuit has fascinated New Zealanders and the authorities made regular unsuccessful appeals for information.

Sightings of Phillips were limited to surveillance footage that showed him allegedly committing crimes successful the area. He was wanted for an equipped slope robbery successful May 2023, accompanied by 1 of his children, successful which helium reportedly changeable astatine a subordinate of the public.

Phillips didn't person ineligible custody rights for his children, Detective Senior Sgt. Andrew Saunders told reporters successful 2024. When Phillips and the children vanished, constabulary said was implicit a custody battle. Authorities person said the children hadn't had entree to ceremonial acquisition oregon wellness attraction since their disappearance.

Law enforcement ever believed that Phillips assistance concealing his family, and immoderate residents of the isolated agrarian country expressed enactment for him. A reward of 80,000 New Zealand dollars ($47,000), ample by New Zealand standards, was offered for accusation astir the family's whereabouts past June but was ne'er paid.

December 2021 wasn't the archetypal clip Phillips prompted nationalist quality headlines aft disappearing with his children. The household went missing that September, launching a three-week onshore and oversea hunt aft Phillips' motortruck was recovered abandoned connected a chaotic formation adjacent wherever helium lived.

Authorities yet ended the search, concluding the household mightiness person died, earlier Phillips and the children emerged from dense wood wherever helium said they had been camping. He was charged with wasting constabulary resources and was owed to look successful tribunal successful January 2022, but weeks earlier the scheduled date, helium and the children vanished again.

Police didn't instantly motorboat a hunt due to the fact that Phillips, who is experienced successful the outdoors, had told household helium was taking the children connected different trip. He ne'er returned.

The hunt intensified again aft respective sightings of Phillips successful 2023 successful the aforesaid portion wherever helium had vanished.

Phillips and his children were spotted successful October 2024 erstwhile a radical of teenage pig hunters saw them trekking done the bush and filmed the brushwood connected their phones.

He was also seen connected surveillance video past month arsenic helium robbed a market store successful the night, accompanied by 1 of his children.

The children's parent issued a connection to Radio New Zealand connected Monday successful which she said she was "deeply relieved" that the "ordeal" for her children had ended.

"They person been dearly missed each time for astir 4 years, and we are looking guardant to welcoming them location with emotion and care," said the woman, who has been identified successful New Zealand quality outlets lone by her archetypal name, Cat.

Phillips' household had antecedently appealed to Phillips to crook himself successful and instrumentality the children.

"There's a batch of emotion and there's a batch of support, and we're acceptable to assistance you locomotion done what you request to locomotion through," his sister, Rozzi Phillips, told New Zealand quality tract Stuff in an exclusive interrogation past month.