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Eerie Photos Reveal Wilderness Campsite Where Fugitive Father Hid Kids for 4 Years

SECRET LAIR

Tom Phillips was killed in a shootout with police on Monday after four years on the run.

Eerie Photos Reveal Wilderness Campsite Where Fugitive Father Hid Kids For 4 Years
New Zealand Police

Police have released the first images of what is thought to be one of many remote campsites where fugitive father Tom Phillips lived for four years after abducting his three young children in New Zealand. In the first of two photos released, a pair of quad bikes can be seen draped in blankets and parked by nearby trees, surrounded by empty soda bottles and a jerry can containing water. The second image depicts a dense forest brush, which Phillips used to evade capture. The site was discovered on Monday after Phillips was killed in a shootout with police in front of his daughter, who led officers to the hideout. Her two younger siblings were found unaccompanied at the campsite, surrounded by guns and ammunition. The children, aged 9, 10, and 11, have since been taken into custody and are said to be “doing well” despite the circumstances. “[The camp] doesn’t look very well established... if anything, that looks more like a garage than the house, if you know what I mean,” wilderness expert Te Riini told Stuff. “It doesn’t look like where they’d actually be living; it’s maybe the area where they store their vehicles. The area where they live might be out of the picture.” The investigation continues.

Read it at Stuff.co.nz

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