The police of Nieuw -Zeeland have released CCTV images that are believed to show a fugitive father who has been fleeing for almost four years with his three children in the remote wilderness.
Thomas Callam Phillips hidden his children Jayda, Maverick and Ember, in the dense bush in Nieuw -Zeeland, after he had taken out of their house in Marokopa on the Noordereiland in December 2021.
The possible observation comes after the family members of Phillips had encouraged the father to get home last week.
On Friday, the police released the clip with two masked people who load groceries in containers on a quadbike outside a store 35 miles away in the small town of Piopio. The incident took place at about 2 o'clock in the morning on Wednesday, shortly before the store was broken into.
The shop owner, who did not want to be called, told CNN branch RNZ Milk was the only thing that was taken despite vegetables and butter that could also be seen.
He said that two people used a corner mill to cut the padlock on the outside air cooler of his store, to activate the alarm, and the couple grabbed some milk before fled a quad bicycle.
“They have rejected the chance to take butter, cheese and vegetables, also stored in the cooler,” he added.
Officers investigate the CCTV for every connection with Phillips and the store is one of whom he is supposed to have focused without success, to have focused in November 2023, said detective -Sior Sergeant Andy Saunders.
“We believe that the couple in these images are Tom and one of his children,” said Saunders.
Jayda, Maverick and Ember Phillips have been missing since December 2021 with their father Thomas Phillips. – New – Zeeland police
“They were 13 minutes in the area, after they had traveled in and out on a quadbike,” he added.
The police believe that Phillips and his children live off-grid, where the father uses his survival skills to feed, protect and dress his children. They also believe that supporters help him stay free.
Saunders spoke with local media on Friday morning and said that the burglary could be a sign that Phillips no longer received the help he had been.
“Does it mean that he may have had a fall with whom helps him? Or is he just so brutal and convinced that he is quite happy to come out at night and commit a burglary?” he said, as reported by RNZ.
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.
This is considered the first observation of Thomas Phillips with his children since they disappeared in December 2021. Courtesy John Mcoviney – Courtesy John Mcoviney
The series of alleged crimes of Phillips comprises the armed robbery of a bank in May 2023, when two people were seen on closed circuit television that escaped a motor with cash.
Phillips is already confronted with a series of charges, including heavy theft, heavy injury and illegal possession of a firearm.
In her first interview since Phillips disappeared, his sister 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.”
Rozzi Phillips, who said Gower that she had not had contact with her brother since he disappeared, also read a handwritten letter from their mother to her missing son.
Thomas Phillips is already confronted with a series of charges, including aggravated theft, serious injuries and illegal possession of a firearm. – New – Zeeland police
“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.
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.
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.”
In his statement on Friday, Detective Senior Sergeant Saunders added: “In the heart of this, three children who have not been to their house for four years are. Their welfare is our most important focus.”
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