Police hold grave fears for two children after their fugitive father was shot dead by New Zealand police following a robbery on Monday.
Tom Phillips and his kids Jayda, 12, Maverick, ten, and Ember, nine, have spent almost four years trudging through the muddy countryside since they vanished in December 2021.
Phillips and his 12-year-old daughter Jayda – dressed in ‘farm clothing’ and wearing headlamps robbed PGG Wrightson, a rural farm supply store in Piopio, in western Waikato, on the country’s North Island, at 2.30am on Monday.
They took off on their quad bike, and were stopped by police road spikes about 33km away on Te Anga Road at 3.30am, where Phillips was confronted by a lone police officer, whom he shot in the head with a high-powered rifle.
When a second police car turned up, Phillips was shot dead and Jayda was taken into custody.
Phillips’ other two children were not present. A massive manhunt is now underway to find them with just a few hours of daylight left on Monday afternoon before temperatures drop below zero overnight.
Maverick and Ember are believed to be on their own and could possibly be armed.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said dozens of officers from specialist teams were scouring the area for the young pair and were prepared to search through the night.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said more than 50 staff were searching for the missing children with hopes to find them before night falls
The eldest child, Jayda, pictured with her siblings Maverick, ten, and Ember, nine, is believed to have been with her father when he was shot dead by police after a bungled robbery
Tom Phillips (pictured) vanished from the rural town of Marokopa on New Zealand’s North Island in December 2021 following a custody dispute with the mother of his three children
‘We have not located them at this stage, and we remain focused on our primary goal to reunite those children and extract them as soon as possible from where they may be today,’ Commissioner Rogers said.
‘We have children that we believe are unaccompanied in the bush, and it’s our priority to locate them this evening.
‘We have about three hours of daylight left.’
Commissioner Rogers said New Zealand’s specialist Armed Offenders Squad had been deployed alongside ambulances.
‘Obviously we’ve got very young children out here,’ she said.
‘You can see the terrain here. It’s rough, it’s rugged. It will be down to freezing point, I would imagine this evening.
‘We want this incident resolved as soon as possible.’
She would not speculate on whether police believed outside assistance was being offered to the missing children but confirmed that Jayda was cooperating with police.
‘They’ve been cooperative with us in providing information, and that has allowed us to identify an area of activity that we will be examining through the afternoon and into the evening, if required,’ Commissioner Rogers said.
A police officer investigates the site a fatal shootout that occurred near the town of Piopio
Police believe this CCTV footage captured Tom Phillips with one of his children attempting to break into a store in Piopio in the Waitomo region
Jayda is yet to be reunited with her mother Cat, who hasn’t seen her children in almost four years.
Commissioner Rogers said the constable shot in the deadly exchange sustained significant injuries and was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.
‘They are described to us as being survivable….but he has been shot multiple times with a high-powered rifle,’ she said.
‘He’s commenced the first of many surgeries.
‘He’s gone back in for further surgery this afternoon on the injuries to his eye, and he will remain in Waikato Hospital for some time to come, having those injuries tended to.’
Road closures are expected to remain in place for several days while police investigate the tragedy.
The drama unfolded after a witness called police after spotting two people dressed in ‘farm clothing’ and wearing headlamps robbing PGG Wrightson, a rural farm supply store in Piopio, in western Waikato, on the country’s North Island, at 2.30am on Monday.
Phillips and the child took off on their quad bike, and were stopped by police road spikes about 33km away on Te Anga Road at 3.30am.
Tom Phillips was shot on Te Anga Road about 3.30am on Monday after allegedly robbing a store in Pipio
Missing Marokopa children Ember and Maverick with their mother Cat who has yet to be reunited with her eldest daughter Jayda
Photos have emerged from the North Island of the fiery exchange between officers and the fugitive, with a police car in the middle of a rural road with its windscreen shattered by bullets.
Just metres away, Phillips’ body remained lying on on Te Anga Road, the fugitive father whose disappearance with his three children captured a nation’s attention and sparked years of unanswered questions.
A high-powered rifle was thrown on the grass nearby, believed to be the weapon the fugitive father allegedly used to shoot a police officer in the head after his quad bike, laden with supplies, hit police road spikes.
Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders said it was possible Phillips had fallen out with those suspected of helping him evade capture.
Phillips vanished from the rural town of Marokopa on New Zealand’s North Island in December 2021 following a custody dispute with their mother.
Roads have been closed near the scene where a police shootout occurred near the town of Piopio, located in New Zealand’s Waikato region
The mother of the three Phillips children earlier broke her silence.
‘We are deeply relieved that for our tamariki (the Māori word for children) this ordeal has come to an end,’ a statement from Cat read.
‘They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care.
‘At the same time, we are saddened by how events unfolded today. Our hope has always been that the children could be returned in a peaceful and safe way for everyone involved.’
Cat also expressed her love to the police officer injured in the incident.
