Chilling vision of missing family emerges
<p>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. </p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>There have been hundreds of sightings of Phillips reported to police since then, with many of them unverified, and the children nowhere in sight.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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". </p>
<p>The children's mother, Catherine, has seen the video and instantly recognised her kids. </p>
<p>“I’m so happy that they’re all there," she told the <em>New Zealand Herald</em>. </p>
<p>"I’m so relieved to see all three of my babies. They’re all alive."</p>
<p>The pig hunters who filmed the footage recalled their short encounter with the children. </p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>In another interview with radio station <em>Newstalk ZB</em>, McOviney said that Phillips was carrying a large rifle. </p>
<p>NZ Police Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders has also confirmed the sighting was being treated as "credible". </p>
<p>"While nothing further of significance was located, investigators will now assess information gathered to determine any next steps," he said. </p>
<p>"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."</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>Phillips and his three children first went missing on September 11, 2021, and an arrest warrant was issued for Phillips shortly after their disappearance. </p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>Members of the public have been warned not to approach Phillips if they spotted him, as he may be armed. </p>
<p><em>Images: TVNZ/ Waikato Police</em></p>
