An $80,000 reward being offered to anyone with good information on missing fugitive Tom Phillips’ whereabouts will run out in less than a week and police are asking people to come forward now.
Phillips has been missing with his three children Jayda, Ember and Maverick somewhere in the Waikato bush for 30 months. While he’s been on the run, Phillips is alleged to have robbed a bank, shot at a supermarket worker, stolen a ute and a quad bike, and tried to break into a shop.
The children’s mother Cat made an emotional plea for Phillips to “bring my babies home” on Tuesday – the same day as Jayda’s 11th birthday. She recorded an emotional video of herself asking for anyone with information on where Phillips was hiding to tell police.
“They are just innocent children, they do not deserve the life that is being provided to them right now,” she said.
“None of this is okay. My babies deserve better. I am just a mother standing here in front of the world begging you here to help me bring my babies home.
“Please, if anybody has any information at all, call the police.”
Watch: Mother of missing children speaks out
The mum of the missing Marokopa children has recorded a video pleading with their father to 'bring her babies home'. Video / Operation Curly
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
0:00
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time -0:00
1x
Chapters
descriptions off, selected
captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
captions off, selected
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
End of dialog window.
This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.
More Kiwis turning to methamphetamine and the worst of the weather is over | NZ Herald News Update
UP NEXT:
NOW PLAYING • Watch: Mother of missing children speaks out
The mum of the missing Marokopa children has recorded a video pleading with their father to 'bring her babies home'. Video / Operation Curly
Acting Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders said today the offer of a reward for information would run out next Tuesday.
An immunity period being offered to anyone helping Phillips hide who tipped police off was not guaranteed to continue past this date, a police spokesman told the Herald.
Saunders said: “The reward has been offered for a limited period of two weeks to encourage people who have credible, current information to come forward now, and not to leave it any longer.
“In the 10 days since the reward offer was announced on Tuesday, June 11, the video [of the children’s mother] on police Facebook has been viewed 89,000 times. It’s heartening to see so many people have engaged in our appeal to locate the Phillips children.”
He said 100 new reports on Phillips’ whereabouts had come through since police launched the fresh appeal for information. Forty of those reports were considered “worthy” and were being investigated further.
Attention on Phillips and his children has ramped up in the past week, with police issuing the reward, deploying officers to Marokopa and then Ōtorohanga, and setting up checkpoints in the hope of finding them.
Phillips first disappeared with the children on September 11, 2021. Emergency services began searching for them after his car was found abandoned on a beach. Phillips turned up almost three weeks later, on September 30.
Clockwise from top left: Tom Phillips and children Jayda, Ember and Maverick. Photo / New Zealand Police
Police charged him with wasteful deployment of police resources but he did not show up at his first court appearance on January 12, 2022. Police then issued a warrant for his arrest. He and his children officially went missing again on December 2, 2021.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
On the Run
The search for fugitive dad Tom Phillips and his three children
September 11, 2021
Tom Phillips vanishes for the first time with his three young children Jayda, now aged 11, Maverick, now aged 9, and Ember, now aged 7, from a beach near Marokopa.
1 The discovery of his ute on the shoreline sparks a major land and sea search.
2 The quartet later return to a family farm almost three weeks later, with Phillips saying he needed timeout.
Phillips is charged with wasting police resources.
December 9, 2021
Almost a month before a scheduled court appearance, Phillips again takes his children from Marokopa.
An arrest warrant is then issued after he fails to appear before court.
May 2022
The mother of the three missing children makes a public appeal for any information which might lead to their discovery.
She also says she believes that Phillips is “getting help from someone which has allowed them to stay off the grid for the past six months”.
September 2022
Police rule out issuing a reward for any information leading to the safe return of the children and the arrest of Phillips. Soon after the children’s maternal family launch a givealittle which contributes to their own $10,000 reward.
May 16, 2023
3 Phillips allegedly robbed a bank and shot at a supermarket worker in Te Kūiti in May, prompting police to issue a warrant for his arrest on September 5.
Police charged him with aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding and unlawfully possessing a firearm over the armed heist of ANZ Te Kūiti on Rora St on May 16.
August 2, 2023
Phillips is seen driving a ute which is reported to be stolen from near Kāwhia.
4 He is seen in two different Bunnings Warehouse stores, disguising himself with glasses and a surgical facemask. He used cash to buy items, which suggested he may have set up a campsite, including headlamps, batteries, seedlings, buckets and gumboots.
5 Later that day, Phillips gets into a fight with the owner of the stolen ute in Kāwhia. The owner tries to run Phillips off the road. The owner also realises winter clothing is missing from his property.
September 2023
Police revealed they had received 14 reports of sightings of Phillips throughout September.
Detective Inspector Saunders said: “Unfortunately, none of these reported sightings of Tom Phillips or the three children have been positive.”
November 2, 2023
6 Phillips allegedly stole a quad bike from a rural Waikato property and then broke into a shop with one of his children on November 2.
Police appealed for any sightings from the public of Phillips, his children or the stolen quad bike.
7 Security footage from the Piopio shop shows the masked pair smashing the front glass and fleeing north after the alarm was set off about 2am.
June 14, 2024
8 After three days of intensive activity in Marokopa (1), police focus moved to Ōtorohanga
