A fugitive dad who vanished into the New Zealand wilderness with his three young children has been caught on camera for the first time in a year, apparently breaking into a convenience store with one of his kids.
Police say they are ‘confident’ that the chilling new CCTV footage appears to show Tom Phillips, alongside one of his missing children.
The video, captured in the early hours of Wednesday, shows two figures forcing their way into a small-town shop before fleeing on a quad bike.
Detective Senior Sergeant Andy Saunders revealed at a press conference on Friday that the pair helped themselves to ‘grocery items’ during the raid.
The latest development is the strongest lead in years in a case that has gripped the country since Phillips disappeared with his children, Ember, Maverick and Jayda in December 2021.
Police believe he snatched the youngsters after losing a bitter custody battle to their mother.
The break-in happened just after 2am on Wednesday in the tiny North Island town of Piopio. Investigators say Phillips appears to have struck before, targeting the same store in November 2023 but failing to get inside.
Authorities released the footage in the hope someone might finally come forward with information about the family’s whereabouts.
Saunders reminded the public that the children’s safety is the police’s top priority.
He said: ‘At the heart of this are three children who have been away from their home for four years. Their well-being is our main focus.’
Phillips is now wanted on serious charges, including aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Police allege he was behind a violent armed bank raid in Te Kūiti in 2023, where two people demanded cash before escaping on a motorbike.
Investigators have long suspected Phillips had help surviving off-grid. Now they are questioning if this new burglary means those relationships have soured.
Saunders said: ‘Does it mean that he’s potentially had a falling out with who’s helping him? Or is he just that brazen and confident that he’s quite happy to come out at night and commit a burglary?’
The fugitive has not been seen publicly since October last year, when a group of teenagers stumbled across him and his three children while hunting pigs.
They filmed the remarkable encounter, the first confirmed sighting in almost three years, before the family vanished back into the bush.
At that time, police said the children had gone years without schooling or contact with the outside world.
Despite a nationwide manhunt and an 80,000 New Zealand dollar reward for information leading to their safe return, the family has continued to evade capture. The reward expired last year with no claims.
Phillips’ family has repeatedly pleaded with him to bring the children home.
His mother issued a heartbreaking message through local media saying: ‘Tom – I feel really sad that you thought you had to do this. Not considering how much we love you and can support you.
‘It hurts every time I see photos of the children and of you and see some of your stuff that is still here.’
In a separate plea, she wrote directly to the youngsters: ‘Jayda, Maverick, Ember, I love you so much and really miss being part of your lives every day I wake up, and hope that today will be the day that you will come.’
