The family of a fugitive father who has been hiding his three children in the dense New -Zeeland Wildernis for almost four years, has spoken publicly since they disappeared for the first time.
Thomas Callam Phillips disappeared with his children in December 2021, and despite various observations, calls for help and a police search, the location of the family remains unknown.
The police are seriously concerned about the children, Ember, Maverick and Jayda – presumably at the age of 9, 10 and 12, respectively – Who had no contact with their mother because their father had not brought them home.
In her first interview since her brother disappeared, Rozzi Phillips told the Nieuw -Zeelande journalist Paddy Gower how much the family misses and wants him to return.
“I miss you, and I miss it to be part of your life,” she said, her voice broke. “You are very special for me … I really want to see you again.”
Thomas Callam Phillips and his children were officially reported as missing by family members in December 2021. – New – Zeeland police
Rozzi Phillips also read a handwritten letter from their mother for her missing son, who is now being sought by the police for several charges.
“It hurts every time I see pictures of the children and of you and see some of your things that are still there, thinking what would have been if you hadn't disappeared,” said the letter, according to things in the news site of New Zealand.
“Jayda, Maverick, Ember, I love you so much and I really miss it to be part of your life every day that I wake up, and hope it will be today that you will come,” it went on.
It is unclear whether the calls of his family will achieve help, according to Phillips, who, according to the New Zealand police, believe that he is alive off-grid and uses his survival skills to feed, protect and dress.
Last June the police offered a reward of 80,000 New Zealand dollars ($ 52,000) for information that led to their location and safe return.
Phillips is being sought for a series of alleged crimes, including the armed robbery of a bank in May 2023, when two people were seen on closed circuit television that escaped a motorcycle with cash.
The police of Nieuw -Zeeland later called Phillips as the suspect and said he was helped by a female complicit. Both would be armed.
In November 2023, Phillips and a nameless child would also have beaten the window of a store at 2 o'clock before they flee a stolen quadfiets. Phillips is also seen on CCTV, covered with his face, by buying supplies in a hardware trade.
“We know that Tom was observed at retailocations in the Waikato region, disguised with different masks,” the police said in a statement at the time.
When CNN was contacted by CNN on Tuesday, the New Zealand police said there were no updates about the police investigation.
Police and local authorities believe that supporters help Phillips to stay in general.
Rozzi Philipps told Gower that she had not had contact with her brother since he disappeared.
Asked why she pronounces herself now, almost four years after her brother's disappearance, she said: “In the hope that he may, maybe, maybe he will see this, and maybe he will see that he can come home, and that we are here for him, and it might be good.”
Cat, the mother of missing children, Jayda, Maverick and Ember. – New – Zeeland police
Last year the mother of the children, who identified herself as a cat, did an emotional attraction for anyone with information about her children's place of residence to call the police.
“I am here for you today, I beg you to help my babies bring home,” she said in a video posted on Facebook. “They are just innocent children.”
From Jayda she said, “She will now be a young woman and she needs her mother.”
“Ember is asthmatic, just like me, and she needs medical care that cannot be offered from the country. And I can only imagine how Maverick is dealing,” she added.
“What Thomas does is not okay,” she said. “Nothing of this is okay. My babies deserve better.”
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