4-Year Manhunt Ends With Shooting of New Zealand Fugitive

When Tom Phillips disappeared into dense bush in New Zealand’s Waikato region with his three children just before Christmas 2021, following a dispute with their mother, it’s unlikely he foresaw things ending in his own death almost four years later after a shootout with police.

As he increasingly resorted to crime to sustain their off-the-grid life, he accumulated a string of offences which seemingly made armed confrontation inevitable.

His three children, Jayda, Maverick, and Ember, were 8, 7, and 5 when they went into hiding. They are now 12, 10, and 9.

One of them—currently unnamed—is helping police with their inquiries while searchers look for the other two.

“This is devastating news for Tom Phillips’ family, and is the outcome that nobody wanted,” Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Jill Rogers said.

On Sept. 8 at about 2:30 a.m. NZ time (12:40 a.m. AEST), police received a call from someone who thought they were witnessing a burglary at a rural farm store in the small town of Piopio.

The description was of two people on a quad bike dressed in “farm clothing” and wearing headlamps.

Acting on a hunch about the route Phillips would take, they laid road spikes at 3:20 a.m. After the bike hit the spikes, an officer emerged, and the man believed to be Phillips fired at him with a high-powered rifle.

The officer was hit in the head, Rogers said, but survived.

“He’s immediately fallen to the ground and taken cover. Soon after, a second patrol unit arrived and has engaged the offender, and he has died at the scene,” Rogers said.

Family Confirm Identity

Phillips was given immediate first aid but died at the scene. The police officer suffered critical injuries and is undergoing surgery.

Police have yet to formally identify the body, but Phillips’ sister, Rozzi Phillips, has confirmed to the media that her brother was killed during the incident.

Asked whether the family had been informed, she said, “Yup, the immediate family are currently up with everything.”

Rogers confirmed multiple firearms were found on and around the quad bike.

Police hold serious concerns for the welfare of the children who are yet to be located, she said.

“We are making urgent inquiries to locate Tom Phillips’ other children, who we hold serious concerns for. The child located at the scene is being provided wraparound support and we will not be providing any other comment at this time on their location.”

The mother of the three missing Marokopa children, Cat, said in a statement that the family was “deeply relieved that for our tamariki (children) this ordeal has come to an end. They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care.

“At the same time, we are saddened by how events unfolded today. Our hope has always been that the children could be returned in a peaceful and safe way for everyone involved.”

The family said it extended its best wishes to the wounded officer.

The vast Waikato region, where Phillips was presumed hiding, has a long sweeping coastline to the west, forested terrain and farmland in the centre, limestone cave networks to the north, and several small rural towns and settlements scattered throughout.

It was in one of these towns, Marokopa—a tiny coastal settlement of less than 100 people—that Phillips, son of a farming family, grew up.

His familiarity with the area undoubtedly helped with his concealment from searchers for so long, but there’s also speculation that he may have had help from some of the community.

Child psychologist Sara Chatwin told the NZ Herald that for Phillips’ children it would be a “hugely traumatising situation.”

“We’ve got to be mindful that they have spent so much time in this state, with their dad on the run … that is what they are used to, and they have spent a lot of their formative years in this situation.”

The children had “been away from other family, you’ve been living with your dad, you love him, he’s your parent, you’re used to a way of living, and to have that shattered … and to have lost your dad, that is hugely significant.”

Timeline of Crimes

While Phillips and the children survived in the bush seemingly without incident for the first two years, from 2023 they began committing a series of crimes, many of them serious. In his recent offending, Phillips was seen with a child.

May 16, 2023: Committed an armed robbery at an ANZ branch and allegedly fired a shot at a supermarket worker.

Aug. 2, 2023: Phillips sighted at two locations, including two Bunnings stores, where he used a surgical mask as a disguise. Later, he got into a fight.

Nov. 2, 2023: Stole a red quad bike and broke a glass storefront.

June 11, 2023: Concerned by the involvement of the children in some of the offending, police offer an $80,000 reward for information about them.

June 25, 2023: The reward expired. Police say they’ve received 50 tips from the public that are “worthy of consideration.”

Oct. 3, 2024: Phillips is filmed by pig hunters walking through the bush with his three children.

Aug. 27, 2025: A man is caught on CCTV, accompanied by a child, breaking into a small town general store. He stole grocery items before escaping on a quad bike. Footage shared by police showed the child’s face concealed by a piece of fabric stuck under their cap. The man has his hood pulled up, with the cords pulled to hide his face, but police claim it was Phillips. That was the last known sighting before his death.