1 week ago
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A dad who vanished in the wilderness with his three young children has been spotted for the first time in a year, breaking into a shop with one of his kids.
New CCTV footage appears to show Tom Phillips and a child forcing their way into a small shop in Piopio, New Zealand, before fleeing on a quad bike on Wednesday.
The dad took his daughter Jayda, now 11, nine-year-old son Maverick and daughter Ember, eight, from the town Marokpa in the north of the country in December 2021 to live in the wilderness.
They were spotted wearing camouflage gear in October 2024, with another alleged sighting taking place by the State Highway 4 in February.
Police, who say they are ‘confident’ the man is Phillips with one of his children, revealed they took a number of food items in the raid.
Officers released the footage in the hopes someone would come forward with information on the whereabouts of the family.
(Picture: NZ Police)
Catherine, the mum of the three children, said in an emotional video last year: ‘They are just innocent children, they do not deserve to be treated this way. They do not deserve the life that is being provided to them right now.’
Tom and the children first disappeared in September 2021 but returned to their farm 18 days later after living in a tent in the dense bushland.
But they disappeared again months later, with the last sighting being December 9, 2021.
Tom then failed to appear in court in January 2022 for a charge of causing wasteful deployment of police personnel and resources.
He is also wanted over an alleged armed robbery of a bank in Te Kuiti in September 2023.
The public has been warned to not approach Tom, despite there having been at least 40 sightings that officers have deemed significant.
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