Tom Phillips and his young children remain elusive despite police searching for them for nearly three years. Video / Mike Scott / Corey Fleming / Jaime Lyth
Police are open to negotiations with Tom Phillips as the fugitive and his children approach four years in hiding.
In Paddy Gower Has Issues, Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders said police were open to discussions with Phillips to ensure the family’s safe return.
Phillips and his children Jayda, 12,Maverick, 10, and Ember, nine, have been missing since December 2021, when they disappeared from Marokopa farmland.
Though the family was seen alive in October 2024, concerns about the children’s wellbeing in the harsh Waikato native bush remain.
Saunders said police would be willing to negotiate with either Phillips or his associates to bring an end to the ordeal.
“The people that are helping Tom, they need to talk to us, or they need to reach out to someone that they trust to communicate with us, and we can start the ball rolling with getting that negotiation happening.”
Phillips allegedly committed an armed robbery of ANZ Te Kuiti in May 2023, resulting in a warrant for his arrest.
He appeared to be accompanied by one of the children during the incident, fleeing on a motorbike after shooting at a local supermarket employee.
Saunders reiterated that police want to bring a safe end to the ongoing manhunt.
“Everything can be worked through, but he’s got to have some endgame.
“It’s been long enough now and it’s time to get those children out and let them get on with their lives.”
Tom Phillips' sister Rozzi Pethybridge.
Photo / Andrew Warner.
Phillips’ sister Rozzi Pethybridge also appeared in the programme, her first public interview since her brother and his children went missing.
Pethybridge said she would like to explain why Phillips has disappeared, but as there are matters before the Family Court, many of the details cannot be discussed.
“I would like New Zealanders to know that when he left in December 2021 with his three children, he did have legal day-to-day care of those three children.”
But since his disappearance, the children have officially been transferred to the custody of Oranga Tamariki.
Pethybridge suspects the fact the children will be in state care when returned is a major reason Phillips remains in hiding, with Gower suggesting assurances about their custody might bring the family home.
Pethybridge said she would help her brother face any proceedings eventuating from the disappearance and subsequent robbery.
Not knowing how the family is doing is what bothers her the most, she said.
“Part of me hopes he is being helped so that he has people he can rely on to help him. But at the same time, I’d be very angry at anyone who is helping him and not telling us how they’re doing.”
She expressed concerns for the children’s wellbeing, but said Phillips is a good bushman who wouldn’t allow them to suffer.
“The hard thing about not knowing is that we don’t know how good of a nest or a hut he’s got.”
Pethybridge was tearful as she described her missing family, particularly her nieces and nephew, whose lives she said she wanted to be part of again.
Putting Christmas presents under the tree for them every year, she remains hopeful for a reunion.
