New video from inside the Tom Phillips’ police cordon show officers recovering bikes as they investigate the fugitive’s secret hideouts.
The Herald’s footage was filmed down a narrow, tree-lined gravel track and is 7km from where Phillips was shot dead by police in an early morning shootout.
Phillips’ quad bike and motorbike, discovered by police at the first campsite, are seen next to an air compressor and a pile of debris. Police on Friday at 9.38pm, more than 24 hours after being asked questions about the items, clarified the rubbish pictured is not related to the Phillips investigation.
“All material related to the investigation has now been removed from the area,” police said.
Police have been carrying out a scene examination of the campsites used by Tom Phillips and the area filmed by the Herald appears to be a staging point for investigators.
Police would not confirm this was the case, nor would they speak about the relevance of the items they’ve found.
During the Herald’s flight over the site, nine police officers were seen with five police vehicles, one of which was connected to a large white enclosed trailer.
Some of the police staff had hiking poles and protective leggings for bush bashing.
Detective Inspector Daryl Smith said the investigation team has worked tirelessly in difficult conditions to examine multiple scenes since the incident on Monday morning.
“Police staff have spent the last three days canvassing the area, traversing some extremely difficult terrain, in dense bush,” he said.
Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders said Wednesday the investigation had shifted to focus on Phillips’ accomplices.
“Aside from the burglaries we are now able to link to Tom, it is apparent that he had outside help,” Saunders said.
Police located Phillips’ remaining children on Monday after his elder daughter Jayda guided them to a campsite.
Police subsequently found another site 200m away from the first, which appeared to be where Phillips and his children had been sleeping and eating.
Police have said Phillips was mobile and likely had multiple campsites but have not said whether the pile of items filmed by the Herald were from the first two sites or from a new site.
During the flight over the bush-clad terrain where Phillips had been hiding, a Herald photographer spotted three other structures.
The white metal containers were deep in the bush and almost completely disguised from the air by the dense tree canopy.
Inside the structures were various power cords and wires, and what appeared to be a generator.
White plastic ducting pipe was seen inside one of the containers which extended up into the bush.
Police wouldn’t say whether the new site filmed by the Herald was connected to Phillips or relevant to the ongoing investigations.
Clarification: This story, together with captions on photos and the video, was edited on September 12 after police issued a “clarifying note” to say the rubbish pictured inside the cordon was not related to the Phillips investigation.
Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won News Journalist of the Year at the 2025 Voyager Media Awards and has twice been named reporter of the year at the NZ Television Awards. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald’s video team in July 2024.