Fugitive dad Tom Phillips shot dead during shootout with NZ cops

A father who has been on the run with his three young children through New Zealand’s remote wilderness for the past four years was shot dead Monday in a shootout with cops during an attempted burglary at a supply store — with the children being found by authorities.

Tom Phillips disappeared into the Waikato wilderness with his children, Ember, now 9, Maverick, 10, and Jayda, 12, just before Christmas 2021 after a fight with their mother, who had sole custody.

Nobody even knew if the three children were alive until they were spotted by a group of pig hunters in October 2024. At the time, they were seen wearing masks and carrying hefty packs while Phillips guided them through the woods.

Early Monday, police responded to a property in Piopio, part of the sprawling Waikato region where Phillips and the children were previously spotted, after receiving reports of a burglary at a rural farm supply store around 2:30 a.m. local time.

“Information came to police that described two people on a quad bike, dressed in farm clothing and wearing headlamps,” Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said.

Phillips previously popped up on authorities’ radars for nabbing a quad bike and stealing camping supplies, including headlamps.

The driver of the bike was making off with items from the store attached when officers laid spikes out at an intersection and sent the bike careening off course.

When the bike came to a full stop, the driver pivoted and opened fire “at close range,” Rogers said.

The officers responded and killed the offender, later identified as Phillips, at the scene. They tried to administer first aid, but it was too late, Rogers said.

One officer was struck in the head and shoulder and suffered critical injuries, but made it to a hospital for surgery.

One of the children, Jayda, was also located at the scene, along with a cache of firearms.

Authorities announced that Maverick and Ember were rescued from a campsite at around 4:30 p.m. Monday, thanks to vital details provided by Jayda.

“This has been a deeply traumatic incident this morning for those involved. It has been confronting and challenging in a small, rural, isolated location,” Rogers said.

The children’s mother, known only by the name Cat, is just glad to finally be one step closer to her family, but added that she is “saddened by how events had unfolded.”

“Our hope has always been that the children could be returned in a peaceful and safe way for everyone involved,” she said in a statement to RNZ.

“They have endured a long and difficult journey, and we ask for privacy as we help them adjust and reintegrate into a stable and loving environment.”

Authorities struggled to make headway in the search for Phillips in the children after facing continued challenges presented by the Waikato landscape, complete with thick forest terrains and farmland at its center.

New Zealand authorities offered repeated rewards for information leading to Phillips’ arrest whenever an inkling of a sighting was reported, but it always expired within a few weeks as the trail went cold again.