Wanted Fugitive Father Forced Kids to Live in Dangerous Wilderness for YEARS

We are making urgent inquiries to locate. Tom Phillips's other children who we. hold serious concerns for. >> There is a missing person's case that. has been resolved after years. We are. talking about a man who is believed to. have been living in the New Zealand. wilderness with his three children. They. are saying that they have been found. But apparently he didn't easily go into. custody leading to a terrifying shootout. with police. We are taking a look at the. sightings of the father and three kids. over the years. how law enforcement. finally caught up with them and how a.

police force can even begin to search. these huge swaths of wilderness. And. we're going to do this all with Billy. Lane, a private investigator and expert. on missing person cases. Welcome to. Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm. Jesse Weber. Three young children allegedly taken by. their father deep into the wilderness. and made to live on the land. This is a. story that has haunted New Zealand for. years. In fact, the country's prime. minister, Christopher Luxon, said this. week, quote, "I doubt there is a New.

Zealander who has not followed to some. extent the story of the abduction of the. children." That's how big this is. Well, now what are we talking about? We are. finally closer to getting answers about. what exactly happened in this rural. community and how the children were. ultimately found. We are talking about. Tom Phillips and his three young. children who disappeared in 2021. and. they disappeared from the Watau region. where the family had a farm. And now. nearly four years, four years after they. were first reported missing, the.

children, two daughters, a son believed. to now be 9, 10, and 12 years old, we. are talking about them being found. According to New Zealand police, Phillips and the children's mother, they. did not have a good relationship. And he. did not have, by the way, legal custody. of the kids at the time they went. missing. You kind of see where the story. is going, right? Here's actually a. timeline of what apparently happened. This is according to reporting from the. New York Times, the BBC, The. Independent. In September 2021, Tom. Phillips and his three kids, they were. first reported missing. There is a.

massive 3-w weekek manhunt for them. This is after Philip's truck was found. abandoned on this wild beach near where. they had lived. Searchers, they comb. through the bush. They launched. helicopters to search both the land and. the water, but eventually the search was. called off with the independent. reporting that authorities feared that. all of them might be dead. We fast. forward to a couple weeks later and that. is when Phillips suddenly reappeared. with the kids came out of the bush.

saying they just been camping. Phillips. was reportedly an avid outdoorsman. Now, he was charged with wasting police. resources because after all, the search. had cost the country what? Hundreds of. thousands of dollars. But then you go to. December of 2021. Phillips and the kids. disappeared again. Now, this time, the. police didn't launch a search, according. to the Independent, at least in part. because he had reportedly told family. members that they were going on another. camping trip, but they never came back. January, a warrant was issued for.

Philip's arrest when he didn't show up. for a court date. Then you go to 2023. There were numerous sightings of. Phillips, including inside of a hardware. store where his face was apparently. partially covered with a mask. He was. also believed to have been involved in a. bank robbery with at least one. accomplice. 2024, the next year, police. offered up a reward of $80,000 New. Zealand dollars, so it's about $47,000. in the United States, for information. that would lead to the children's. location. But there was no luck. There. were no bites. Nothing happened. So, the.

police end up speaking with the. children's mother, who's known only as. Cat, and they released a video clip of. her in June of last year. >> I'm standing here before you today, begging you for your help to bring my. babies home. They are just innocent children. They do. not deserve to be treated this way. They. do not deserve the life that that that. is being provided to them right now. >> Here's the thing, though. Phillips. actually found some supporters online. There was a search of his name on.

Facebook. Brings up not only articles. about the search and the shootout, but. also posts from people saying there's no. proof the children are being harmed or. in danger in any way. >> Many of you say that the children are. fine, that they're being well looked. after. How do you know? Have you seen. them? Or is it just bush talk? What. Thomas is doing is not okay. It is not. okay to divide and conquer. It is not. okay to isolate and control. It is child. neglect. It is child endangerment. It is.

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break in this case. What do I mean? CCTV. footage from August 27th released by. police shows a person believed to be. Phillips plus a shorter person arriving. at a local store and breaking in. They. load supplies onto this four-wheeler or. quad bike and then they leave. So, someone calls authorities to, you know, report the break-in. New Zealand's. police commissioner provided reporters. with an update on Monday about what. actually happened next. >> Police received a call from a member of. the public that they believed they were.

witnessing a burglary in action at a. rural farm supply store in Puuel. information came to police that. described two people on a quad bike. dressed in farm clothing and wearing. headlamps. Knowing the information that we had. previously had that had seen Tom. Phillips also in this area support. additional staff were called out and. responded to that location.

The quad bike was observed traveling. along the Wuna Road, which is a rural. gravel road that intersects with Tianga. Road, which is the main road that leads. back to Maropa. At about 3:20 this morning, officers. laid spikes at that intersection. The quad bike has run over the spikes. The two occupants have been on that bike. and it has come to arrest on this rural.

road a short time later. The first attending police officer at. that scene has come across that stopped. quad bike and been confronted by gunfire. at close range. Our officer has been struck in the head. He's immediately fallen to the ground. and taken cover. Soon after, a second patrol unit arrived. and has engaged the offender.

and he has died at the scene. A second. person was located at the scene and. multiple firearms were located on and. around the quad bike. Our injured officer has been airlifted. to W Cuttle Hospital by the Westpak. rescue and he underos he is undergoing. surgery as we speak. He has received critical injuries. and will require numerous surgeries.

>> According to the latest reporting, that. officer is expected to survive. thankfully, but it will be a long road. to recovery. While the police. commissioner didn't officially confirm. that suspect was Phillips, it was clear. that's who they believed the man to be. And some of his family members confirmed. to local media that it was Phillips that. was shot and killed. By the way, when. the commissioner gave that news. conference, authorities had only found. one of the three children. So, dozens of. searchers, they fanned out to try to. find the other kids. Now, fortunately, a.

little later, there was some good news. As I said at the earlier briefing this. afternoon, we would provide you further. information as soon as we knew anything. else. And I can tell you with great. relief this evening that soon after 4:30. today, we've located Tom Phillips. remaining children. Um, they've been. found in a campsite not far from here, further up the Tianga Road, and they are. with police officers now and being.

removed from that location. I can confirm that the children are well. and uninjured. and they will be taken to a location. this evening for medical checks. >> Now, according to police, the first. child they found helped narrow down the. search for their siblings and. authorities released a few photos of. this makeshift campsite that had been. built. CNN reports that specialist. negotiators were called in to help. approach that site. These are young. children who have been out in the.

wilderness for years, possibly maybe no. other real human contact, and now. suddenly their campsite is surrounded by. strangers. Imagine that scene. Authorities say they knew there was at. least one gun and ammunition at the. campground. So, they were extra careful. with how they handled it. So, now I want. to bring on Billy Lane, who is a private. investigator, a missing person's expert, and is part of the nonprofit group We. Are The Essentials. I actually saw him. this past weekend at Crime Con. The work. that you do is incredible. Billy, I'm so. happy to have you on. Um, this is a.

weird one, right? Such good news, right? These children are found. They're. reportedly uninjured. It's unfortunate. that the situation ended the way that it. seemingly has, although there hasn't. been 100% confirmation. It appears um. that Phillips uh was shot and killed. Um. especially we're talking about an. injured police officer. But it's not too. often that we get to report on an ending. like this, particularly with young. people. Right. >> Correct. I would have assumed that this.

would have been a tragic outcome, especially after multiple years of him. being missing with the children. Uh it. would make me believe that he might have. taken them. I believe based on facts. that were being developed by the law. enforcement there and even through. families and friends who said that they. had seen him in a stolen vehicle. I even. think that there was reports that the. ex-wife said that she seen him in a. stolen vehicle, but for some reason. couldn't get the vehicle stopped in time. enough to rescue the children. It's.

heartbreaking that the children have. gone through this type of terror for. multiple years with their father and uh. I'm really concerned about the kids. >> And what is that reintroduction to. society, right? You know, they've been. with their they're apparently with their. father for years. We don't know what. that environment has been like. I. mentioned before, maybe they had contact. with others, maybe they didn't. What is. that reintegration into society, into a. family life, into the community? What. does that look like for people who have. been missing or taken? >> Wow. I mean, for the children, I can't.

even imagine where you would even start. at. For several years, they have been. with their father, living in the woods, uh, living in campsites, living on the. run. I'm not quite sure where the. father's mental status was during all. this. Maybe he had talked to them about. not trusting others for several years. and he was the only figure that they. would trust for multiple years and now. that figure is gone. You know, law. enforcement killed their father. So over.

these years they may have learned not to. trust others and that's going to be very. hard especially when they start trying. to come back around mom and who knows he. may have poisoned the children against. the mother to begin with and that's. their only sanctuary at this point now. once dad is gone and trying to get back. into society. >> Are you surprised it took this many this. long this many years for there to be a. resolution? How is it possible they. could have been missing for for that. long a period? >> Absolutely. Um, in law enforcement, this.

should have been a priority. There. should they should have been able to. determine whether or not the children. were still alive and if not figure out. where they were and if they believe that. they were still alive to use all the. resources possible. We have to. understand from the reports that I'm. reading, there were only like 65 people. that lived in this little town. And from. other reports, it said that the town's. folks were supporting him, thinking that. he was a hero for taking his children. and taking them into the woods and. trying to protect them based on what. they were saying. I've never heard of a. story like this before, especially at.

this level. For somebody to be able to. take their children, spend this much. time in the woods, it's unheard of. And. I I'm happy that there is a resolution. I'm happy that the parents and mom is. able to sort of reunite with these kids. and bring them back to where they need. to be at because these are small. children. The only positive possible. outcome is that they are small and. they're able to bounce back because. little kids can bounce back sometimes a. lot better than us older folks can. So. that's the only positive I see in this.

>> Is it also what the area we're talking. about? Right. My understanding is this. is a very remote part of New Zealand. There's really dangerous terrain. There's thick uh bushes. There's rocky. cliffs. There's choppy waters. How do. you even go about organizing a search of. a place like that? How difficult is. that? >> It's extremely difficult, especially at. our level. We do this a lot, but not at. that extreme vast amount of area that. you're locating. You're typically using. drones and helicopters, aerial coverage,

uh you try to use dogs for license. And. if you notice in these scenarios, every. time that they would come in the public, they'd be wearing masks, which was very. weird. And I didn't know and maybe this. had been started back during the COVID. era, but even so, for them just to show. up in towns wearing masks and and they. were doing robberies and burglaries and. criminal activity so they could maintain. I guess a lifestyle stealing vehicles, driving these stolen vehicles around. town. But I guess I think we have to. understand maybe the law enforcement. there is not the law enforcement that we. have grown to accustom here in the.

United States. Maybe the quality of. manpower is not there. The resources are. not there. But this seems to be a very. big story. I don't understand why more. resources weren't put towards locating. these kids sooner than this. It almost. seemed like they were just waiting for. the opportunity to present itself. And. what I'm really concerned about is that, you know, over 10 months ago, there was. a interview by the mother saying that I. don't believe that this will end well. when it does end. And she was blowing. the whistle on the whole scenario 10 11.

months ago wanting help trying to get. her children back and rightfully so. One. of the things that she said was, "I'm. concerned about the kids. I'm concerned. what happens if something happens to. him. What happens if he dies or he's. killed in a shootout and the kids aren't. found or he doesn't tell the kids where. they're at or if he gets arrested and. the children aren't with him? How do. they find the kids if he doesn't tell. them where the children are?" So these. are valid concerns and there could have. been a horrible number of different.

scenarios that played out in this in. this story, but I think this was the. best one that at least they had one the. adult child that was able to take them. back to the other children. >> You make this point. I mean there's a. lot of speculation about whether someone. was helping Phillips, right? Providing. food, supplies, hiding the family, maybe. in a cabin. Um were they really camping. that whole time? If someone is missing. and there are searches going on, there. is an active police investigation,

at what point does a person become an. accomplice or co-conspirator to. something like this? How do they look. into now whether someone may have had a. role in keeping them hidden or. concealed? >> I think you have to determine whether. they were aware of it. And in this. scenario, it sounded like everybody in. the in the area was aware of the media. coverage on this story. So, I think it's. going to be hard for somebody to say. that I wasn't aware that, you know, he. had ran away from his home and the. extent of time if they're if they're.

living or they're staying at your house. or your camper or your campground for. two and three years with small children. who are not in school, these are raising. red flags that, you know, I think it's. going to be hard to try to defend that. But absolutely anybody who provides, you. know, supplies, vehicles, and in one. story that I I listened into, they said. that he was possibly in a stolen vehicle. that might have been provided by a. friend or family who later took and. reported the vehicle stolen. I guess. once they realized that maybe that.

wasn't the best thing to do. So, there's. a lot of scenarios. There's a lot of. moving parts in the story. Um, I think. the best part of the story is that the. kids are okay and that they will be. brought back and they will be given the. help they need and hopefully and soon. reunited with mom. But I wonder what. that looks like. I wonder what that. transition to seeing mom again looks. like after spending that much time with. dad. Evidently, he had a lot of paranoia. going on now. Whether that was chemical. paranoia or a mental issue that he was.

dealing with, something was causing him. to go and do that. I know in the very. beginning of the story they said that he. had left for a short period of time and. came back with the kids like everything. was fine and then he left again. I don't. know if he was just testing the waters. Was he testing his ability? Was he just. trying to lay down a foundation that. maybe he had to come back again so maybe. they weren't going to go use resources. to find him. So there there's multiple. possibilities here. And and real. quickly, the public's role in this and. when you're seeing eyewitness accounts. of maybe sightings or police releasing.

new images from CCTV footage, how. important is that in a search? >> It's absolutely the fundamental of the. search because you want to know the. location. Uh for us, if you're on foot, your last known location, we're going to. two mile perimeter and that's where. we're going to start our search at. If. you're on a side by side or four-wheeler. or maybe even a vehicle, we're looking. at five miles. So, that's very. important. I always tell people when we. start doing searches that we're looking.

for bonafide, certified locations of. where these people are at. So, we're not. talking about just I might have seen. them or that might have been them. We. typically look for video that we can. confirm. But now, in this case, it's. hard because they got masks on. So, can. you really confirm that to be them or. can we just assume it to be them? So, I. think there's a lot of issues you're. dealing with here. Now, I know the the. mother said that she had seen this. person in the vehicle that she thought. to be the ex-husband, and she believed. based on his movement and how he was.

moving, that that was him, and the fact. that there might have been children in. the car along with him. But to your. point, Jesse, I do believe it would be. extremely hard to live in the woods with. three children, especially that age. This is not something that's easy to do. And based on information provided by the. ex-wife, he was not an outdoorsman. Billy, I I really appreciate you uh. coming on. For anybody, I know Billy. actually took the time to come on in the. middle of a a trial, so uh I really. appreciate it. Uh your booth was uh. packed at Crime. People were so.

interested in the work that you do. So, before I sign off, um if you could tell. everybody where they can find you, if. they want to help with the work that you. do, where is the best place they should. go? >> I can go to we are the essentials.com. where they can learn about our mission. to help find missing loved ones for. free. We do this in Central Florida and. we are hoping and praying that God gives. us the ability to expand our ability to. help throughout the United States. So, please like and follow us and if you're. able to make a small donation, it helps. the next family. >> Billy Lane, good seeing you. Thank you.

so much. >> Appreciate you, sir. Have a great day. >> And that is all we have for you right. now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank. you so much for joining us. As always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple. Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should. get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. can. follow me on Instagram X. I'll see you. next time, everybody. [Music].