Rizna Mutmainah
Legal

Chilling vision of missing family emerges

A video filmed in New Zealand's west coast is the first "credible" sighting of a father and his kids who went missing three years ago. 

Tom Phillips along with his daughter Jayda, now 11, son Maverick, 9 and daughter Ember, 8, disappeared from the New Zealand town of Marokopa in December 2021. 

There have been hundreds of sightings of Phillips reported to police since then, with many of them unverified, and the children nowhere in sight.

But now, new footage shot on the evening of October 3, showed all four of them marching through a grass field in Marokopa, in a single file with camouflage gear and heavy backpacks.

The video, filmed by pig hunters, was handed to police and has since prompted a large-scale search of farmland in the area this week, which unfortunately failed to locate Phillips and his children. 

In the footage, the family seemed unaware they were being filmed from afar, with one of the witnesses describing them as "equipped for the bush". 

The children's mother, Catherine, has seen the video and instantly recognised her kids. 

“I’m so happy that they’re all there," she told the New Zealand Herald

"I’m so relieved to see all three of my babies. They’re all alive."

The pig hunters who filmed the footage recalled their short encounter with the children. 

“The children asked: ‘Who else knows we’re here?’ And then they just kept on walking. They were all packed up, they had big packs on. I think the father sort of kept them moving,” Farmer John McOviney told the New Zealand Herald.

In another interview with radio station Newstalk ZB, McOviney said that Phillips was carrying a large rifle. 

NZ Police Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders has also confirmed the sighting was being treated as "credible". 

"While nothing further of significance was located, investigators will now assess information gathered to determine any next steps," he said. 

"This is the first time all three of the children have been sighted, which is positive information, and we know it will be reassuring for the children's wider family."

While police remain tight-lipped about what their next steps are, they said : "Our focus is very much on the safe return of Jayda, Maverick and Ember to their whānau [the Maori word for family] and we are doing all that we can to make that happen.”

Phillips and his three children first went missing on September 11, 2021, and an arrest warrant was issued for Phillips shortly after their disappearance. 

He does not have legal custody over his children is alleged to have breached a custody order by taking them. The children are believed to have had no education or contact with others since their disappearance. 

Members of the public have been warned not to approach Phillips if they spotted him, as he may be armed. 

Images: TVNZ/ Waikato Police

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Legal, New Zealand, Tom Phillips