Fugitive Marokopa father Tom Phillips’ children found by police

Police have found Tom Phillips’ children in a remote campground more than 12 hours after he was fatally shot.

Phillips died after a shootout with police after they were called to reports of a burglary. An officer was also shot in the head with a “high-powered rifle”.

One of Phillips’ children, who was with him at the time, began assisting police.

Phillips’ sister, Rozzi Phillips, earlier confirmed to RNZ her brother was involved and that he had died.

Phillips’ father declined to comment on the unfolding situation.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers told media on Monday evening that soon after 4.30pm police located Tom Phillips’ children found in a remote campsite by themselves.

“They are with police now and are being removed from the location.

“They are well and uninjured, they will be taken to a location this evening for medical checks.”

Rogers acknowledged the people on the ground and those who had been part of the “difficult and taxing investigation” for the four years that Phillips and his children had been missing.

“Today’s outcome is not the one we wanted. Our thoughts are with all those involved.

“Every person involved in this case has had the welfare of the children at heart.

“While they are safe, this is the start of a long journey of recovery and their welfare remains our top priority. For that reason, we will not be going into details about where they are now or their mental state.”

Rogers said the children had been found alone and the scene would be subject to a forensic examination.

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

About two hours earlier, Rogers held a media briefing about the search for the children.

“We have children that we believe are unaccompanied in the bush, and it’s our priority to locate them this evening, we have about three hours of daylight left we know.”

Police had several specialist teams on the ground including the Special Tactics Group (STG) and Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) with the Eagle helicopter also in the area.

Asked about an ambulance seen in the area Rogers said it was standard practice to deploy an ambulance when they have the STG.

“And obviously we’ve got very young children out here. You can see the terrain here. It’s rough, it’s rugged. It will be down to freezing point, I would imagine this evening. Hence, we want this incident resolved as soon as possible.”

The police officer who was shot has had his first of “many surgeries”, she said.

“He’s gone back in for further surgery this afternoon on the injuries to his eye, and he will remain in Waikato Hospital for some time to come having those injuries tended to.”

The constable sustained “significant injuries”, she said.

“They are described to us as being survivable, but… he has been shot multiple times with a high powered rifle.”

Tom Philips and his three children.
Photo: Supplied / NZ Police

‘Sombre day’ – Prime Minister

Speaking at the weekly post-Cabinet briefing, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the day has been “sombre”.

He said he had been briefed on the situation and briefed that the officer who was shot was being operated on in Waikato Hospital.

“This is a constable who was out looking after his community and what’s happened is a reminder that police put themselves on the line every time, every day they put on that uniform.”

He said New Zealanders thoughts were with the officer and also with the missing children.

Luxon said he was “very concerned” about the welfare of the missing children, noting searchers were running out of daylight hours.

He said he was not aware of whether the defence force had been asked to assist in the search.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi

The burglary

Rogers earlier said police received a call about 2.30am from a member of the public who believed they were witnessing a burglary in action at a rural farm supply store in Piopio.

They told police it involved two people on a quad bike dressed in farm clothing and wearing headlamps.

“Knowing the information that we’d previously had that seen Tom Phillips also in this area, additional staff were called out and responded to that location,” Rogers said.

The quad bike was observed travelling along the Waipuna Road which is a rural gravel road that intersects with Te Anga road which is the main road that leads back to Marokopa.

At about 3.20am officers laid spikes at that intersection and the quad bike has run over the spikes.

Phillips and one of his children were on the bike at the time. The bike then came to a rest a short time later.

“The first attending police officer at the scene has come across that stopped quad bike and been confronted by gun fire at close range. Our officer has been struck in the head, he’s immediately fallen to the ground and taken cover.

“Soon after a second patrol unit arrived and engaged the offender and he has died at the scene.”

The officer who was shot was flown to Waikato Hospital by Westpac Rescue. He received critical injuries and would require “numerous surgeries,” she said.

Rogers said police were making “urgent inquiries” to locate Phillips’ other children who police hold “serious concerns for”.

The child who was found was being provided “wrap around support”.

“This has been a deeply traumatic incident this morning for those involved, it has been confronting and challenging in a small, rural, isolated location.”

A critical incident investigation was under way. The Independent Police Conduct Authority had also been notified.

The child was not injured in the shootout, Rogers said.

She said there were “multiple firearms” on the quad bike and that the officer was shot with a “high-powered rifle”.

Asked how the officer knew to lay spikes at the intersection, Rogers called it “officer intuition”.

“It’s a long gravel road. I think it’s approximately 30 kilometres through there, knowing that if he was heading back to the Marokopa area, that that would be his route of choice. And that appears to be what has unfolded this morning.”

The officer in charge of the investigation into the search for the family, detective senior sergeant Andy Saunders said what unfolded was “devastating”.

“It’s not the outcome we wanted, but we’ve got one child out safely, and our focus is now is really finding the other children, getting them out safely.”

Four years missing

Police released an image of Tom Phillips wearing a white beanie, a surgical mask and glasses taken at Bunnings in Te Rapa, Hamilton, on Wednesday 2 August.
Photo: Supplied / NZ Police

Phillips and his three children first went missing in September 2021.

They were found later that month, and it appeared they had gone camping.

Then, a few months later, on December 20 they disappeared again from Marokopa.

Phillips was facing a raft of charges, including aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding and unlawful possession of a firearm.

There has been repeated calls from the family for Tom to come forward. Police have long said they believed he was being assisted.

Police released footage of a burglary in Piopio on August 27. They said the footage was believed to show Tom Phillips and one of his children.

The owner of the store earlier said the only thing taken during the break-in was milk, despite butter and vegetables both being on display.

He said the two people used an angle grinder to cut the padlock on his chiller out the back of his store.

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