Inside the ‘grim’ main campsite used by Tom Phillips and his children – as photos confirm long-held suspicions about the fugitive father

The first photos of the ‘grim’ and ‘dimly lit’ main campsite used by fugitive Tom Phillips and his three children have been released.

Phillips was shot dead by police after he fired at an officer during a shootout after breaking into a store in Piopio on New Zealand’s North Island in the early hours of Monday morning.

He spent almost four years on the run with his three children in remote bushland.

Jayda, 12, was with her father when he was killed and she provided authorities with the information needed to find the other children Ember, nine and Maverick, 10 later that afternoon. 

Authorities found the main campsite used by the family, just 200m from where Ember and Maverick were located.

Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders revealed the site was well hidden in steep and uneven terrain which was difficult to access. 

‘It’s a very grim, dimly lit area, surrounded by dense bush,’ he said. 

Photos released by police of the makeshift camp on Wednesday showed various items, including a tent, a gas bottle and numerous drink containers.

After holding strong suspicions, police said it was now apparent that Phillips had been receiving assistance while on the run. 

‘We are currently looking at a number of items at the site,’ Det Saunders said.

‘Aside from the burglaries we are now able to link to Tom, it is apparent that he had outside help.’

Police revealed on Monday that Jayda provided ‘vital information to ensure a safe approach’ to help find the other kids but did not attend the rescue herself.

‘We would not put her alongside us as we move forward to the campsite because that presents a risk to her, and we wouldn’t be prepared to put her in any risk at all,’ Commissioner Chambers said.

He added officers were ‘certainly confident’ they would find more campsites.

‘What we located the other day is a site that can easily be shifted,’ Commissioner Chambers said.

‘It’s fairly basic sort of living conditions, and therefore we are likely to find other things in other places, and that might suggest there’s something a bit more substantial in other places.’

Officers will now turn their focus on identifying those involved in helping Phillips, as the police operation enters a new phase.

The police vehicles and the quad bike involved in the shootout were removed from Te Anga Road on Tuesday night.

Police will continue to gather evidence from the campsite in the coming days.

‘It has been a challenging operation, but I am relieved and delighted that we have been able to return the children to safety,’ Det Saunders said.

‘While no one wanted it to end in these circumstances, it is highly satisfying as an investigator that the children have been safely returned.

‘We wish to thank the public for the ongoing support of police, and in particular for the kindness and care people have shown in respecting the children’s privacy.’

The police officer wounded when he was shot by Phillips on Monday remains in Waikato Hospital after spending ‘a good chunk’ of the day undergoing surgery.

The children remain in the care of authorities and are yet to be reunited with their mother Cat, who hasn’t seen them in almost four years. 

‘We don’t know what they’ve fully been exposed to, but we know that they’ve been put in a fairly bad position by their father,’ Police Minister Mark Mitchell said.

‘We know that one of them has witnessed him trying to kill a police officer and then having been killed himself… I think everyone at the moment is just focused on trying to settle the children and figure out what is the best thing for them in terms of what they’ve been exposed to.’

Phillips vanished from the rural town of Marokopa in December 2021 with his children following a custody dispute with their mother. 

Despite an NZ$80,000 reward and multiple search operations, the family had been living in the wilderness ever since. 

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told RNZ earlier this week that Jayda provided ‘vital information to ensure a safe approach’ to help find the other kids.

She revealed her father had guns at a rural campsite where her younger siblings were later found.

‘We knew that there were firearms,’ he said.

Commissioner Chambers said Phillips and his children frequently moved between different campsites.

‘We know Mr Phillips has been moving around this very vast region frequently, so he hasn’t stayed in one location for the entire time,’ he said.

The case divided New Zealand and Phillips found supporters online and among residents of the settlement of Marokopa, population 40, where he had lived. Some locals told visiting reporters that they endorsed his actions.

December 2021 wasn’t the first time Phillips and his children had vanished. Three months earlier, he sparked a massive search operation when his truck was found on a beach near his home, with no trace of the family.

Officials feared they had been swept out to sea before Phillips and the children emerged from the forest after 17 days, saying they had been camping. Phillips was charged with wasting police resources but disappeared again with the children before he was due to appear in court.

Phillips didn’t have legal custody of his children at the time he vanished.

He was later wanted for an armed bank robbery in 2023, during which he was accompanied by one of his children and apparently shot at a member of the public as he fled.

He was spotted on CCTV footage in the area committing other break-ins to steal supplies, most recently in August.

Beyond those thefts, it wasn’t clear how the family had survived in rugged countryside at freezing winter temperatures for years.