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Boy's astonishing act after police kill fugitive dad and find children in bush
Story by Ryan Fahey
The child of a fugitive held a rifle at police when they raided the remote campsite where his father had been evading justice, police say.

Tom Phillips' son Maverick, 10, pointed the firearm at specialist officers as they approached the site where the family had been hiding in Waikato, New Zealand.
The children and the campsite were discovered after Phillips was involved in a firefight with cops, which left one officer with critical injuries and the father-of-three dead.

"Highly trained and skilled" negotiators were on hand to calm Maverick and his nine-year-old sister Ember after their sister Jayda helped police find the camp. Eventually they agreed to leave the camp without shots fired, according to Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders.

Their sister Jayda, 12, was instrumental in the police operation after she assisted cops to find the campsite and informed them the children had access to firearms.

"We had information to say a firearm was present [at the campsite], and there was," NZ Police Commissioner Richard Chambers tells the New Zealand Herald.

Jayda was "very, very helpful" - though she was not involved in the operation on the ground - but she helped police to approach and speak to the youngsters in a way that didn't spook them.
"We kept her not far away, but far enough away that her safety wasn't compromised," Commissioner Chambers said.

Jayda was with her father Tom Phillips when he was gunned down in a roadside shootout in New Zealand's North Island's Waikato region.

The father and daughter were making their getaway on a quad bike and plundering a farm supply store at gunpoint.
Phillips unleashed a volley of bullets after cops laid down road spikes. One officer was struck in the head, leavin him in critical condition.

Investigators are still working to understand just how the family was able to sustain itself and avoid detection for so long, adding they believe they must have had outside help. Photographs have been released showing a campsite - which was likely a temporary site - with soda cans, cooking equipment and tyres strewn around.

Police revealed the site where the children were found had previously been searched.

"It's highly likely that we've been very, very close," Commissioner Chambers said ."If not right there."

Phillips originally disappeared back in December 2021, but police believe they stayed in close proximity to the rural community they were from.

An $80,000 (£35,00 reward was offered, but police received no leads as to the family's whereabouts.
"Aside from the burglaries we are now able to link to Tom, it is apparent that he had outside help," Detective Saunders said.

Phillips has been painted as a Robin Hood-type figure in New Zealand, with Kiwis divided over the case. The survivalist had a row with his children's mother before disappearing with them into the rugged New Zealand wilderness.

Commissioner Chambers said: "I can tell you he is no hero.

"No one who does this to children, no one who unleashes high-powered rifles on my staff, is a hero, simple as that."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news..../world/boy-s-astonis

Mum of missing kids who vanished in New Zealand wilderness speaks out after dad is shot dead
Story by Ellie Fry
The mum of missing children who vanished with their fugitive father for four years has revealed her 'complex emotions' as the three siblings have finally been found.

Runaway dad Tom Phillips took his children without legal custody and disappeared in September 2021 after a dispute with their mother. They have been on the run ever since, living in the wilderness in New Zealand and evading desperate efforts by police to track them down.

All three children were first sighted with their father on October 3, 2024, when they were spotted walking through Marokopa farmland. They are believed to have lived in the wilderness ever since.
And now the siblings - Jayda, 12, Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9 - have miraculously been found safe and well after Phillips and his daughter were spotted carrying out a burglary. Phillips was shot dead by police after opening fire on an officer.

A witness raised the alarm around 2:30am after spotting two figures - believed to be Phillips and 12-year-old Jayda - in "farm clothing," and headlamps raiding PGG Wrightson, a rural supply store in Piopio, western Waikato, New Zealand.

The pair fled on a quad bike but were intercepted an hour later, around 33km away on Te Anga Road, where police deployed road spikes.
Phillips was then confronted by a lone officer. He opened fire with a high-powered rifle, striking the officer in the head. When backup arrived, police shot and killed Phillips, while Jayda was taken into custody. His two other children, Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9, were missing at the time, prompting a frantic search.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers later confirmed the siblings were found alone at a campsite and were cooperating with investigators. She said: "I can confirm that the children are well and uninjured, and they will be taken to a location this evening for medical checks".

And now after four years of hell, the children's mother, Catherine, has spoken of her relief that the missing siblings have been found and sadness over how the shootout unfolded.
"First and foremost, we are deeply relieved that for our tamariki [children] this ordeal has come to an end," she told Mata.

"[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."

Phillips' ex-wife continued: "At the same time, we are saddened by how events unfolded today. Our hope has always been that the children could be returned in a peaceful and safe way for everyone involved."

Catherine also extended her aroha [love] to the injured officer, who remains in critical condition, and thanked everyone in the community who had supported the family during the four-year ordeal.
"Your compassion has sustained us," she said. "As a whānau [family], we are now attempting to work in cooperation with the relevant government agencies to support the safe return and reconnection of our tamariki.

"They have endured a long and difficult journey, and we ask for privacy as we help them adjust and reintegrate into a stable and loving environment."
Praising the efforts of the search teams who found the children, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said: "This is a result of incredible work by police who had to contend with a high-risk situation and difficult circumstances both earlier this morning and throughout the day. I want to acknowledge our colleague who was shot and faces a long recovery."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news..../world/mum-of-missin

The 6-Year-Old Who Solved a Murder
A father gunned down in his sleep, a frantic wife on the phone, and a house filled with suspicion. Investigators thought they knew the killer—until a 6-year-old shattered the case wide open.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news..../uknews/the-6-year-o