Fugitive Dad Had ‘Help’ Hiding 3 Kids in ‘Well-Hidden’ Campsite: Police

Police have released further photos of the “well-hidden” campsite where fugitive father Tom Phillips was hiding with his three children in a rural area of New Zealand before being shot dead in a police shootout.

Phillips disappeared with his children, Jayda, 12, Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9, after an alleged dispute with their mother back in 2021, PEOPLE previously reported. He’d been on the run since December of that year.

New Zealand Police then confirmed Phillips had been fatally shot in the early hours of the morning on Monday, Sept. 8 in Waikato — a region of the country’s upper North Island — following a suspected burglary in the small town of Piopio.

Police have since been revealing further details about the case, including releasing images of the campsite where the father and kids — who are now safe and in the care of the Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children) — had recently been staying.

On Wednesday, Sept. 10, police said in a separate news release that they were continuing the search of the camp, believed to be the main place Phillips had been hiding out in recent months. They stated that the area was “difficult to access” and “well-hidden,” as well as highlighting “the challenging environment the family used as their base.” They also said they believed the suspect had “outside help” keeping his children hidden.

One of the images shared showed what appeared to be a makeshift hut surrounded by trees, while another showed a shelter, and one featured a tent and tarp, a gas bottle,a camping stove, and packs of what appeared to be alcohol.

“Police have released new images from this wider site, approximately 200 metres away, across some difficult terrain from where the younger children were found on Monday,” the latest release stated.

Officers confirmed on Monday that the two remaining children had been discovered “unharmed” following the shootout, and were “now safe,” per a previous news release. Phillips’ third child had been with him at the time of the shooting and was already in police custody.

In Wednesday’s release, Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders said officers had been working in steep and uneven terrain to document evidence from the scene.

“It’s a very grim, dimly-lit area, surrounded by dense bush. The tent was well covered and dry,” Saunders insisted, per the post.

“We are currently looking at a number of items at the site. Aside from the burglaries we are now able to link to Tom, it is apparent that he had outside help,” he added.

Police confirmed in the release that officers’ vehicles and the quad bike used by Phillips had been removed from the scene of Monday’s shootout, which also saw an officer get seriously injured, on Te Anga Road.

The injured officer “continues to recover in Waikato Hospital,” the release noted.

Saunders added that “Operation Curly” — focused on locating Phillips and the safe return of the three children — had now “naturally” come to a conclusion as “the police work enters a new phase.”

The latest update comes after police released the first photographs of the campsite where the family was believed to have been staying on Tuesday, Sept. 9. The site was just over a mile from the scene of t shootout.

The Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children) then provided an update on the children’s well-being in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.

Warwick Morehu, Oranga Tamariki and Whānau Services Regional Commissioner Waikato and Bay of Plenty, said on Tuesday, “I can confirm the children had a settled night, they are doing well under the circumstances and engaging with the staff supporting them.”

“I want to assure you that these children will be provided with whatever help or assistance they may need, for however long they may need it,” he insisted.

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Morehu continued, “These are young children, and this has been an unprecedented set of circumstances. Everyone is doing their best to ensure we can return them to some form of a normal daily life.” 

“We don’t know exactly what that looks like yet, or how long that may take, we will be guided by the needs of these children,” he said in the statement, asking for privacy for the children despite the “huge public interest” in the case.

While speaking to Radio New Zealand‘s (RNZ) Mata podcast, the children’s mother, Cat, said, “[The children] have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care.”