Evidence at bush camp shows fugitive father had ‘outside help’, NZ police say

6 days ago 6

By Samantha Hayes

September 10, 2025 — 11.57am

New Zealand police say a search of the remote bush camp where fugitive father Tom Phillips was hiding out with his children has revealed he clearly had “outside help” during his almost four years on the run.

Phillips – who went into hiding with his three children in December 2021– was killed on Monday during a shoot-out with police on a remote country road south of Auckland. A police officer suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the incident, including to the head. He is recovering in hospital after multiple surgeries.

New images from police appear to show a camp kitchen at the remote bush camp where Tom Phillips’ children were found on Monday.

A shelter erected at the Phillips campsite.

Phillips’ eldest child, Jayda, 12, was with him during the shootout and was taken into police care. She then helped police find her two younger siblings, Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9, at a bush camp hidden two kilometres off the road where Phillips was killed.

Since the children were reunited and settled into state care on Monday, police have been scouring the campsite to determine how the Phillips family managed to survive for so long in the remote and rugged environment.

On Wednesday morning, police released further images of the campsite that appeared to show a camp kitchen and sleeping area about 200 metres from another space, revealed on Tuesday, where vehicles had been stored. Police said officers were working in steep and uneven terrain to document evidence from the scene.

A shelter at the campsite, build on steep terrain in dense bushland.

“It’s a very grim, dimly-lit area, surrounded by dense bush. The tent was well covered and dry,” Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders said.

“We are currently looking at a number of items at the site. Aside from the burglaries we are now able to link to Tom, it is apparent that he had outside help.”

On Tuesday night, New Zealand Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said that the children’s mother, Cat, had not yet been allowed to see her children.

“I understand that their mother has not had that opportunity,” he said. “My staff were talking to her a number of times yesterday, but there are court matters in place, which need to be considered before any access to the children may be considered, as far as I’m aware.”

The Phillips children Jayda, Maverick and Ember, with their mother, Cat, a month before they were taken by their father, Tom Phillips, in 2021.

The children were aged eight, seven and five when their mother last saw them four years ago.

Chambers said that when police recovered the remaining children from Tom Phillips’ secret campsite on Monday afternoon, they were “fairly quickly” handed over to welfare authorities “to ensure that they had the care and the protection that they deserved”.

Chambers sympathised with their mother’s plight and understood that she would be desperate to see them, but said that was not up to the police.

“I totally appreciate that as a parent, and as a parent myself, however… that’s something that [welfare authority] Oranga Tamariki will need to consider,” he said. “There’s obviously things that need to be considered first.”

A garage-style area at the campsite where Tom Phillips’ children were found south of Auckland.

Police approached the campsite carefully to recover the children because Jayda had told them there were guns and ammunition there.

“I’ve got very skilled negotiators, and they kicked in and did what they do so incredibly well and were able to ensure that those children were safe,” Chambers said.

“Of course, they were pleased to see another one of their other siblings, who had been with us since the morning, and so we were very delighted that they were in our care.”

When asked whether the children seemed relieved at the time of rescue, Chambers said that he had “no doubt that there was emotion present when the young children were reunited with their older sibling”.

“Their reintegration to society is probably going to take some time,” he said.

“I have no doubt that they’re good Kiwi kids. So I’m sure that a nice warm shower, a home-cooked meal and to engage with society in the way they deserve to engage, that will be something that they look forward to,” he added.

“But it’s certainly going to take time and our job as police is to support Oranga Tamariki and anybody else to ensure that those kids are given the best opportunity going forward.”

Chambers confirmed all the children were aware that their father was killed in the confrontation with police, and they were being helped to process their grief.

The scene where Tom Phillips was killed in a shootout with police.

“Yes, they are being supported. So too is the wider family,” Chambers said.

“It’s not an end that any of us wanted, but, you know, for four years, we have known that Mr Phillips is armed, he’s dangerous, and he’s been very motivated.

Tom Phillips was shot dead by police on Monday.

“We had hoped, of course, that all persons would be safe and well, without harm, but my staff are trained to deal with these situations. They did everything that I would expect them to do, given the threat that was presented to them.

“It’s quite remarkable actually that – and thank heavens – that one of my staff has not lost their own life.”

Chambers said it was too early to tell if the officer hurt in the shootout with Phillips would have permanent injuries as a result of being shot multiple times in the head and shoulders by a high-powered rifle, at close range.

“This experience for my colleague has been extremely traumatic,” he said.

“He’s a young father as well himself. I have no doubt that there will be injuries that he’ll deal with – probably both physical and in terms of the trauma – for many years to come.”

The officer has been undergoing surgery on his eye and Chambers said it was too early to tell if he would lose his sight.

“He spent most of [Monday] in surgery, there’ll be more surgery to come, his injuries are significant. It’s gonna take a lot of time and it was very, very confronting.”

Chambers said that if others were found to have been involved in helping Phillips over the past four years, police would apply the full force of the law, calling the children’s treatment appalling and stressing that no loving father would do such a thing.

“No father who cares, or loves their children in a way that all fathers do, would do this. To those young children, our job is to enforce the law, and we will.”

Stuff.co.nz

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