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Headline: New Zealand Fugitive Tom Phillips Killed in Police Shootout After years on the Run with Children
Wellington, New Zealand – Tom Phillips, a New Zealand man who spent nearly four years evading authorities while on the run with his three children, was killed in a police shootout on Monday. The children, aged approximately 9, 10, and 11, are now safe.
The long search for Phillips and his children, who disappeared in December 2021, captivated New Zealand. The family had vanished from the rural settlement of Marokopa on the North Island,sparking extensive searches.
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Caption: Police officers and area residents stand at a roadblock near where a police shootout occurred near the town of Piopio in New Zealand’s Waikato region on Sept. 8, 2025. Authorities said Tom Phillips,a New zealand father who spent nearly four years as a fugitive with his children,was killed in a police shootout.(DJ MILLS / AFP via Getty images)
The incident unfolded after Phillips allegedly robbed an agricultural supplies store early Monday. During a confrontation, a police officer was shot in the head and critically injured. That officer is now in stable condition after undergoing surgery.One of Phillips’ children was with him at the time of the robbery and was taken into custody.
Acting Deputy Police Commissioner jill Rogers stated that the child in custody cooperated with authorities,leading them to the location of Phillips’ other two children,who were found unharmed at a remote campsite in a rugged forest about 13 hours after their father was killed.
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Caption: Members of the media stand on the side of a road where a police shootout occurred near the town of piopio in New Zealand’s Waikato region on Sept.8, 2025. Authorities said Tom phillips, a New Zealand father who spent nearly four years as a fugitive with his three children, was killed in the shootout. (DJ MILLS / AFP via Getty Images)
A Saga of Disappearances and Evasions
The Phillips case has been a source of intense public interest in New Zealand. sightings of Phillips were rare and frequently enough linked to alleged crimes.He was wanted for an armed bank robbery in May 2023, during which he reportedly shot at a member of the public.
Phillips did not have legal custody of his children. Their initial disappearance in september 2021 prompted a large-scale search after Phillips’ truck was found abandoned on a beach. The family re-emerged after three weeks, claiming they had been camping. He was charged with wasting police resources but disappeared again with the children before his court date.
over the years, there were occasional sightings, including one by teenage pig hunters in October 2024 and another captured on surveillance video last month during a grocery store robbery.
The children’s mother, identified only as Cat, released a statement expressing her “deep relief” that the ordeal was over and that she was looking forward to welcoming her children home. Phillips’ family had also made public appeals for him to turn himself in.
