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A fugitive father has been spotted along with his children for the second time within the three years since he went on the run.
Tom Philips took his daughter Jayda, now 11, nine-year-old son Maverick and daughter Ember, eight, from the town Marokpa within the north of the country in December 2021 to live within the wilderness.
The 4 were last spotted in October, when the kids’s mum, Catherine, said she believed her daughter tried to get a ‘message’ out to the general public when responding to hunters who took the footage.
It’s now believed they were seen by State Highway 4, south of Te Kūiti, over the weekend.
A police spokesperson said: ‘Police at the moment are working to determine whether this can be a credible sighting and are working to rule out other possible scenarios.’
Catherine previously expressed her worry her children are at risk, slamming Philips for ‘child endangerment’.
Philips and his three children first disappeared in September 2021 but returned to their farm 18 days later after living in a tent within the dense bushland.
But they disappeared again months later, with the last sighting being December 9, 2021.
Philips then failed to look in court in January 2022 for a charge of causing wasteful deployment of police personnel and resources.
He can also be wanted over an alleged armed robbery of a bank in Te Kuiti in September 2023.
The general public has been warned to not approach Philips, despite there having been no less than 40 sightings that officers have deemed significant.
Last yr, mum Catherine said in an emotional video: ‘They are only innocent children, they don’t should be treated this manner. They don’t deserve the life that’s being provided to them at once.’
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