Missing Children Found Safe After Their Fugitive Dad is Shot by Police

The remaining missing children of Tom Phillips, the fugitive New Zealand father who hid in the wilderness with them for nearly four years before being shot dead by the police, have been found “safe,” authorities have confirmed.

At around 4:30 p.m. local time on Monday, Sept. 8, the two children were located approximately 2 km (1.24 miles) from where their father died in a shootout in the wilderness near Waitomo in the North Island, the New Zealand police said in a press release.

“Specialist Police officers conducting a search within bush near Waitomo located the outstanding children of Tom Phillips. I’m pleased to say they are unharmed and are now safe,” Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said.

“…While they are safe, this is the start of a long journey of recovery and their welfare remains our top priority. For that reason, we will not be going into details about where they are now or their mental state.”

In a press conference on Monday, Rogers shared that the children were found alone and “uninjured” at a “remote” campsite and were transported to another location “for medical checks,” per the New Zealand outlet Stuff.

In 2021, Phillips disappeared with his three children — Jayda, Maverick and Ember, now believed to be ages 9, 10 and 12 — after an alleged dispute with their mother, per police. He had been living off-grid with them ever since, with NBC News reporting that he did not have legal custody.

Despite massive police searches and several reported sightings of Phillips and his children, they remained missing for years.

Phillips died in a police shootout on Monday, after officers were alerted to a possible break-in at a farm goods store in Poipoi in the western Waikato district, near to where he was believed to have been hiding out with his kids, CNN, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) and ABC News Australia reported.

One of the three siblings had been with their dad at the time of the incident and was placed in police custody following the shootout, officials said at the time. Rogers said at the press conference on Monday that the same sibling “provided information [to police] that has been crucial in narrowing our search.”

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.  

Tom allegedly committed several crimes while on the run, including a robbery in Waikato, according to police. Two weeks before the shootout, authorities released CCTV footage they believed showed Tom breaking in at a business in Piopio with one of his children, per a police report.

The scene where the two children were found has been locked down for a forensic examination, the police note in their release.

“This is an emotional development. To know the children are safe, and now receiving care after nearly four years, is an absolute relief,” said Rogers.