A man who had been hiding with his three children in the New Zealand wilderness for nearly four years is believed to have been shot dead after an armed confrontation with police.
Thomas Phillips and his two daughters and son, believed to be aged 9, 10, and 12, had been evading police since December 2021 in a remote part of the country’s North Island.
While formal identification has yet to take place, New Zealand’s acting deputy police commissioner Jill Rogers said at a news conference on Monday: “We believe him to be Tom Phillips.”
His relatives confirmed his death to local news outlets.
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A police officer was shot in the head and critically injured during the confrontation with Phillips after he is believed to have robbed a farm supplies shop in the Waikato region in the early hours of Monday morning, Ms Rogers said.
A second police officer then arrived and Phillips was shot, and despite efforts to save him died at the scene, Ms Rogers added.
A child who was with Phillips at the time of the robbery has been taken into custody and is cooperating with the authorities, police said.
But the whereabouts of the other two children remain unknown.
“We hold serious concerns for those children, and our focus is on finding them,” Ms Rogers said.
In August, the family of Phillips broke their silence to appeal for him to return home.
For the first time, his family directly appealed to Phillips, hoping that “just maybe, he’s going to see this” and “that we are here for him.”
The children’s mother issued a statement to Radio New Zealand on Monday in which she said she was “deeply relieved” that the “ordeal” for her children had ended.
“They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care,” said the woman, who has been identified in local news outlets only by her first name, Cat.
Phillips did not have legal custody rights for his children, it has been reported.