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The camouflaged campsite where a New Zealand bushman father hid his three children has been exposed after he was killed in a shootout with police.
Tom Phillips vanished with his children Jayda, Maverick, and Ember, then aged eight, five and seven respectively, in December 2021.
Two of the kids were found at the campsite in Waikato district in the country’s North Island.
The third child, who helped to locate their siblings, was discovered with Phillips, before the survivalist was killed in a police shootout.
Pictures of the site showed two apparently abandoned quadbikes. Officers also recovered weapons and ammunition on the scene.
As of Tuesday, the three children have yet to be reunited with their mother.
Phillips was caught when one police officer, responding to reports of a robbery, decided to lay road spikes at an intersection about 3.20am.
A speeding quad bike then ran over the spikes and came to a stop.
The constable, who was first on the scene, came across the bike but was then shot in the head multiple times at close range.
‘He was getting out of the vehicle and has fallen to the ground. He’s taken cover back in the vehicle,’ Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said outlining Phillips’ final moments.
A backup patrol then arrived at the scene and opened fire back killing Phillips.
‘He knew that he had support coming. And when you’re travelling these roads at night, I can tell you, they are completely dark. What he came across this morning in the early hours would have been completely unexpected.’
A backup patrol then arrived at the scene and opened fire back killing Phillips.
Forensics quad bike police found multiple firearms, one of which was a high-powered rifle that had been used to shoot the officer.
One of his three children was then taken into custody uninjured.
The injured officer now conscious and talking in hospital, she added.
Police Commissioner of New Zealand Richard Chambers said there were ‘court matters’ to determine before the siblings are handed over to family members.
‘We will apply the heavy hand of the law, because what these young children have been through is appalling. No father who cares or loves their children in the way all fathers should would do this’, he said.
‘We owe it to those young children. Our job is to enforce the law and we will.’
In the press conference, Chambers reiterated that Phillips should not be considered a hero. ‘No one who does this to children, who unleashes high-powered rifles on my staff, is a hero,’ he said.
He told ThreeNews that it was too early to say whether they would have permanent injuries.
Warwick Morehu, from the Ministry for Children said the kids would be provided with support ‘for however long they may need it’.
The children’s mother, known only as Cat, said she was ‘deeply relieved’ at the news they had been found.
She said in an interview with local media: ‘We are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care.’
But the mum added that she was also ‘deeply saddened at the way events had unfolded’ on Monday.
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