New Zealand police have released dramatic new footage of fugitive Tom Phillips breaking into a grocery store in a small town with one of his children in tow. Phillips abducted his three young children from their mother following a domestic argument in 2021 and has been on the run with them ever since. The footage, believed to be the first known sighting of Phillips in over a year, shows a masked man and a child using power tools to break into the building, before loading up groceries onto a quad bike and fleeing the scene. Detective Senior Sergeant Andy Saunders confirmed police are “confident” the pair are Phillips and one of his missing children, who are now aged 12, 10, and 9. The father does not have legal custody of the children. He is believed to have been living in the King Country bush, receiving outside help to evade discovery and obtain supplies, and in May 2023 was linked with an armed robbery in Te Kuiti which saw two suspects demand cash from a bank before fleeing on a motorcycle. He was last spotted in October 2024 hiking through farmland with his three children in tow, prompting a large-scale manhunt which was called off after three days. A warrant has been issued for Phillips’ arrest, and he faces a string of charges, including aggravated robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm. His family has begged him to turn himself in and return the children to their mother.
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