A fugitive father who spent almost four years with his three young children, was killed on Monday during a police shootout in New Zealand, ending one of the most striking manhunts in the country.
Tom Phillips disappeared in the Waikato wilderis with his children shortly before Christmas in 2021 after a dispute with their mother, who, according to the local officials, kept some detention.
The police said that Phillips was deadly shot during an attempted burglary in a stock store, where he was accompanied by one of his children. Phillips died on the spot, and his children – Ember, now considered 9, Maverick, 10 and Jayda, 12 – were safely restored and are now in care, according to officials.
“This is an emotional development. Know that the children are safe and now received care after almost four years, is an absolute relief,” said acting commissioner Jill Rogers in a statement. “We are grateful to put an end to what three years of torment has been for the family of the children.”
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During the four years that Tom Phillips was missing, surveillance images have conquered the fugitive father trying to rob a store. (NEW -Zeeland police/ Facebook/ Missing Morocopa -Kinderen)
The police were warned on Monday around 2:30 a.m. local time for a suspected burglary in a supply shop in Piopio, a small town on the North Island where Phillips was supposed to hide with his children.
When officers saw two people who rode on a four -wheeled bicycle near the burglary site, they suspected that Phillips was involved and weigh the road in a nearby street to intercept them, according to a press release from the police.
Phillips opened the fire on officers, hit one in the upper body and remained seriously injured. The police said they brought the fire back and killed Phillips. The child with him was unharmed and custody, while the wounded officer was transported to a hospital for treatment.
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Ember, now 9, Maverick, 10 and Jayda, 12, were missing in New Zealand almost four years ago. (New -Zeelandse Police)
Later that afternoon, officers discovered the remaining two children, a boy and a girl, only in an improvised camp on about a mile of the scene of the shooting. Both were found unharmed, officials said.
Authorities had long expressed concern about the well -being of the children and said they were raised isolated without access to formal training or health care.
Despite various reported observations in the Waikato region over the years, the police were repeatedly emptied to find the family.
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The police of Nieuw -Zeeland discovered an improvised campsite and quad bikes in the wilderness where fugitive father Tom Phillips hid his children for the last time. (New -Zeelandse Police)
The police said that Phillips was already confronted with accusations of heavy theft, exacerbated injury and illegal possession of a firearm.
Civil servants recovered three weapons on the scene of the shooting, including the weapon he used to fire on officers, and found a number in his camp.
Surveillance images also recorded him to break into another store on 27 August.
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The mother of the children, Kat, described the news of the death of Phillips as a “wave of complex emotions”, according to Local Outlet RNZ.
Cat, the mother of the three missing children, said she was deeply relieved to hear that her children were found. (Facebook/ Missing Morocopa Children/ New -Zeeland police)
“First and foremost we are deeply relieved that this test has ended for our Tamariki,” she said, with the help of the Māori word for children. “[The children] They missed every day for almost four years and we look forward to welcoming them with love and care. “
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“They have undergone a long and difficult journey and we ask for privacy while we help them adapt and reinforce themselves into a stable and loving environment,” she added.
