AFTER four years on the run with his three young children, ‘Bushman’ Tom Phillips was not about to surrender to the police.
Surrounded by armed officers on a rural road in New Zealand following a shop ram raid, the fugitive chose to open fire.
New Zealand PoliceTom Phillips, the New Zealand man who disappeared off-grid with his children[/caption]
Phillips’s children Jayda, Maverick and Ember
AFPA police roadblock following the shooting of Phillips[/caption]
Having shot one of the officers in the head, Phillips was gunned down in the terrifying firefight which left patrol cars riddled with bullets.
It is a tragic end to a bizarre cat and mouse chase with the authorities that spiralled horribly out of control.
Having initially survived in the wild with his three kids, Philips increasingly resorted to botched thefts to get the resources they needed.
There are suspicions that the 38-year-old farmer from the Waikato region, south of Auckland, had taken his daughter on an earlier armed bank robbery, with one witness describing a girl pointing a gun.
Increasingly desperate he is said to have broken into a store this summer, but only got away with a bottle of milk.
Why Phillips disappeared with his children in September 2021 in the first place is unclear.
At that point he had custody of Jayda, 12, Maverick, ten and Ember, nine, who he home schooled.
His truck was found partially in the water on a beach and there were fears all of them had died.
Just over two weeks later they were all found safe and alive, having been camping in the wilderness.
But after Phillips was charged with wasting police resources, he took his children away for good in December of that year.
Last night New Zealand’s prime minister Christopher Luxon said: “I doubt there is a New Zealander who has not followed, to some extent, the abduction of the children, of whom there have been only intermittent sightings since 2021.
“This morning’s events are not how anyone would have wanted this to end, and I know that there will be many questions.”
The questions people will want answering are why Phillips disappeared with his children in the first place – and why it took so long to track him down.
Survivalist instincts
Phillips came from a farming family, living in the small village of Marokopa on the west coast of New Zealand’s northern island.
He was described as a “skilled builder” who often took his children hunting and his sister said he’d completed a six-month outdoor survival course.
The first sign that something was seriously wrong was when his Toyota Hilux was discovered abandoned in the shallow water of Kiritehere Beach four years ago.
The police began a massive search, but feared Phillips and his children had drowned.
There was talk of a dispute with his wife Cat, who he’d split from, but he did have custody of their three kids.
He’s doing nothing wrong
Police spokesperson
At the time the police said: “In terms of current court restrictions of what he can and can’t do, he’s doing nothing wrong.”
Then 17 days later they were discovered camping in a tent.
Even then relatives asked “how the hell did he survive?” with three under ten year-olds in the bush.
There were reports they had eaten “watercress and smoked eels and bread” but the rice had gone mouldy.
Phillips, who has been described by locals as “just a normal, average bloke”, claimed he’d just gone camping to “clear his head”.
This morning’s events are not how anyone would have wanted this to end
Christopher Luxon
That, though, was just the beginning.
He was charged with wasting police time and rather than turn up for court went missing again in December 2021.
In the largely unpopulated mountainous forests, caves and coastline it would certainly be possible for a person to go undetected.
Living in the great outdoors with three children in unpredictable weather over four winters is a totally different challenge.
Breaking cover
NZ PolicePhillips was linked to a bank robbery that saw two masked figures demanding cash before fleeing on a black motorbike[/caption]
AFPVideo footage from August of Phillips during a store raid with one of his children[/caption]
New Zealand PoliceTom Phillips, New Zealand man who disappeared with his children,[/caption]
There were several sightings including Phillips arriving on a quad bike at a local farm, reports that he’d stolen a utility vehicle and suggestions he’d taken four motorbikes.
That crime spree took on dangerous dimensions in May 2023 when he donned a mask to rob the ANZ bank in Te Kuiti, an hour’s drive from Marokopa.
Witnesses told of New Zealand dollars floating up the main street as they fell out of one of the robber’s pockets as they made their getaway.
A local bravely tried to wrestle the offender to the ground as he ran into a nearby carpark, but was stopped in his tracks when an accomplice pointed a gun at him.
It’s a girl. I know it’s a girl but I don’t know how old
Robbery witness
The man, who did not wish to be identified, said: “It’s a girl. I know it’s a girl but I don’t know how old.”
The police think that Phillips was the bank robber.
Supermarket sweep
In August 2023 it became clear that he wasn’t surviving on wild grubs like an I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Bushtucker trial.
CCTV footage showed Phillips going to a supermarket, where he bought headlamps, batteries and seedlings.
Three months later more security cameras caught him trying to break into a store in nearby Piopio with a child.
By this point he no longer had custody of the three children, because the local authorities had ruled they should be taken into their care.
In the local community there was a wall of silence, with many people viewing Phillips as an anti-authoritarian hero who should be left alone.
Supporting Thomas is essentially supporting child abuse
Mum Cat
Marokopa is a tiny community with no shops and around 20 permanent residents where everyone knows each other.
Cat, who also has two older daughters Jubilee and Storm, suspected that someone was helping him.
Speaking out in June 2024 she said: “Supporting Thomas is essentially supporting child abuse because that’s what it is.”
She described Phillips as ‘controlling’ and commented: “I just want my babies home. I still have some of their clothes and Christmas presents from the year they disappeared.
“I don’t even know what they look like now.”
AFPA police officer investigates the site following the shootout this week[/caption]
Positive sighting
It became clear that Phillips hadn’t strayed far from home when footage emerged last October of the children dressed in camouflage walking across farmland close to Marokopa.
The police were informed of the sighting, but didn’t begin their search until the next day and so the opportunity was lost.
In August his sister Rozzi Pethybridge 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.”
I’d be very angry at anyone who is helping him and not telling us how they’re doing
Sister Rozzi
The same month Phillips used an angle grinder to break the padlock on the door to the back of a shop in Piopio with one of his children at 2am in the morning.
They seem to have feared being caught, because they only took milk.
The owner said: “They turned down the opportunity to take butter, cheese and vegetables also stored in the chiller.”
Final stand
A similar raid in Piopio was to bring the shocking saga to an end in the early hours of Monday.
The police laid spikes on the most likely road out of town and Phillips’s quadbike lost control when it ran over them.
Even though he had his daughter Jayda with him, he opened fire on the officers, hitting one in the head.
Another police officer shot back, killing Phillips.
The injured policeman is in hospital in a serious condition but the girl was uninjured.
Search teams then managed to find Maverick and Ember who had been left on their own at a campsite just over a mile away.
All of the children were described as doing well.
Cat concluded: “They have endured a long and difficult journey.”