WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand authorities offered a reward and immunity from prosecution Tuesday to anyone who can help their search for three children who have been missing since their father vanished with them from a remote rural community more than two years ago.
The December 2021 disappearance of Tom Phillips and his children — now aged 8, 9 and 10 — has confounded investigators. They are not believed to ever have travelled far from the remote rural settlement where they lived, but there have been no credible sightings of the family for months.
Police officers converged on the township, Marokopa, population 69, to seek fresh leads in a case that has fascinated the country of 5 million people.
Phillips is accused of committing an armed bank robbery while on the run in May 2023. He allegedly shot at a member of the public and fled on a motorbike with a passenger who investigators believe was one of his children. Phillips no longer has legal custody rights for his children, Acting Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders said at a news conference in the city of Hamilton, south of Auckland, on Tuesday.
“These are not the actions of a good father,” said Saunders. The children have not had access to formal education or healthcare since they went missing, he added, and police have concerns “for the welfare of the children who have been living in isolation for the past two and a half years, with no connection to others.”
Saunders said that a reward of 80,000 New Zealand dollars ($49,000) — large by New Zealand standards — and an offer of immunity from prosecution is targeted at people who already know the family’s whereabouts. The authorities have long said they believe that Phillips has had help concealing his family.
The reward, approved by New Zealand’s Commissioner of Police, expires in two weeks, Saunders said.
“We don’t want them waiting months and months to decide,” he said. “Come forward and tell us where the children are.”
It is not the first time Phillips prompted national news headlines after disappearing with his children. The family went missing in September 2021, provoking a 3-week land and sea search after Phillips’ truck was found abandoned on a wild beach near where he lived. Authorities eventually ended the search, concluding the family might have died, before Phillips and the children emerged from dense forest where he said they had been camping.
He was charged with wasting police resources and was due to appear in court in January 2022, but weeks before the scheduled date, he and the children vanished again. The police did not immediately launch a search because Phillips, who is experienced in the outdoors, had told family he was taking the children on another trip. He never returned.
Less than a year later, with the trail cold, the authorities said Phillips and the children might have moved elsewhere in New Zealand and changed their names. But the search began again after several sightings of Phillips in 2023 in the same region where he had vanished, including in the alleged bank robbery.
The children’s mother was happy the reward had been offered, Saunders said. A spokesperson for the family could not be contacted for comment.
In a puzzling and heartbreaking case, authorities in New Zealand have launched a search for a father who disappeared into a forest with his two young children two years ago. The man, whose name has not been released to the public, was last seen on a hiking trail in the dense wilderness of the South Island with his 7-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son.
The disappearance of the father and his children has left family members and investigators baffled, as there have been no sightings or clues as to their whereabouts since they went missing. The man’s wife, who reported them missing after they failed to return home from their hike, has been left devastated by their sudden disappearance.
Search teams have been combing the rugged terrain of the forest for any sign of the missing trio, but so far their efforts have been fruitless. The dense foliage and rough terrain have made the search difficult, and there are fears that the father and his children may have become lost or injured while out in the wilderness.
Authorities are urging anyone with information about the missing family to come forward, as they continue to investigate all possible leads in the case. The search for the father and his children has captured the attention of the nation, with many people hoping for a positive outcome to this tragic situation.
The disappearance of the father and his children serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of venturing into remote areas without proper preparation and precautions. Hiking and exploring nature can be a wonderful experience, but it is important to always be prepared for the unexpected and to take necessary safety measures when embarking on outdoor adventures.
As the search for the missing father and his children continues, the community is coming together to support the family and offer assistance to the search teams. The hope is that they will be found safe and sound, bringing an end to this harrowing ordeal that has gripped the nation for two long years.
