Three missing Waikato children reunited with family after '17 days of hell'

Thursday, 30 September 2021

The children who spent 18 days missing in bush on the rugged Waikato west coast are “as bouncy as ever”, says their elated grandmother.

The mystery of the whereabouts of Thomas Phillips and his children, Jayda Jin, 8, Maverick, 6, and Ember, 5, was partially solved with their reappearance on Thursday, sparking relief across the country and especially at the family farm near Marokopa.

Tom Phillips' own mother Julia Phillips spoke briefly to Stuff through a window at the remote homestead, but was wary of giving too much of the story away. The family were planning to address media on Friday, and until then they would leave the talking to the police, she said.

**READ MORE:

* Family that disappeared on Waikato beach found

* Missing family: Daily searches for family last seen in Marokopa suspended

* Search and Rescue is a hard and unemotional slog, says veteran

**

'We are very relieved and thankful, and we are so grateful to the police,' she said.

The three children were 'absolutely fine' she said.

'They are as bouncy as ever and very well.'

Police revealed at a press conference on Thursday the family had spent 18 days living in a tent and avoiding dozens of searchers scouring the rugged Waikato west coast for them 15km away.

Phillips left his ute on remote Kiritehere Beach with the keys under the driver’s floor mat before vanishing on September 11.

But despite the obvious relief from police and family answers to what prompted the saga remain.

“It is extraordinary,” said Waikato West Area Commander Will Loughrin. “It is the scene that we hoped. We wanted Tom and the family to be alive.

“This is a family that experienced 17 days of hell, a community that experienced 17 days of hell. To have the outcome that we wanted, it’s fantastic.”

The children’s mother was ecstatic at the news the children were safe when he called her soon after 8am on Thursday, Loughrin said.

“Being able to make that phone call to her this morning was a sense of relief that her children are alive.”

Phillips and the children had been seen on a bike about 5.30am on Thursday morning on Mangatoa Road, about 5km from the family farm.

Police dispatched a plane to scour the area but saw nothing further until Phillips 'walked through the door” at the family farm on Thursday.

Loughrin says it would take some time to establish exactly what had happened out in the bush, although they were believed to have been living in a tent 15km away from where their ute was found.

It was an area that was within their initial search, but one where they had not found anything in the dense bush among rugged hill country.

It was too early to understand why Phillips and his children had been away for so long, and practical information like what they ate, and how they survived for the 17 days, Loughrin said.

He would not comment on Phillips' mental or physical state, but said the children are healthy and happy.

The kids are happy, they're well, they're speaking, 'and they're playing like children do', he said.

Police were speaking to Phillips at the family farm to gather more information on his motivations but Loughrin would not comment on whether police believed anyone else had known of Phillips’ whereabouts or helped him in any way.

Loughrin would not speculate about the likelihood of charges being laid.

Phillips' sister Rozzi Pethybridge earlier told Newshub that Phillips “just walked in the door”.

“As Dad said, 'I just hope he walks in,' and he has. This is the best-case scenario.

“I talked to him for about two minutes and there were lots of tears,” she told Newshub, explaining the father who had gone missing had wanted space to clear his head.

On the streets of Marokopa the few people who were out and about on the grey, cold day were smiling and laughing.

'The whole community is overwhelmed to hear that the family are still with us,' kaumatua Hemi Kete said.

'We are so blessed they are still walking on Mother Earth.'

Tom's childhood friend Murray Kawhena had also recently received the news his old schoolmate was alive and well.

'It put a dampener on things for a bit, but this is good news,' he said.

'They will be ending the rahui. We will be able to go whitebaiting again,' said his partner, who asked not to be named.

Added Kawhena: 'It will be welcome home to him and his kids … it will be good to see them.'

Stories of the three children and their father vanishing from a remote beach have made headlines across the country for the past few weeks.

The alarm bells were first raised after Phillips’ ute was found parked on the beach, below the tide line. It’s understood the vehicle was facing the waves. There was no sign of the occupants; the child seats in the back were empty. The keys were under the driver’s side mat.

Police and search and rescue volunteers scoured the desolate coast at Kiritehere to no avail. Despite extensive searches, including with heat-detecting drones, a helicopter, a fixed-wing plane, an IRB and a jet ski, no sign of the family had been found, bar a few “items of interest”.

On Friday last week, the daily searches for the Ōtorohanga family were suspended, with police moving into a “reactive' phase”.

While there were concerns the family might have been swept off the rocks during the weekend of stormy weather, the Phillips family had remained hopeful the father had taken his children on a camping trip.

In a statement via police, the mother of the children had previously said they were holding out hope that the three kids were safe.

The family had said there was no noticeable change in Tom’s behaviour on the Saturday. Jayda, Maverick and Ember didn’t go to school, instead they were home-taught by their father, who himself was homeschooled, apart from a stint at a private school in Hamilton.

Phillips had worked as a fencer and spent several years in the South Island. He separated from the children’s mother a few years ago and had become a full-time father.

A neighbour previously told Stuff her kids and Tom’s – “lovely little kids” – would interact over the fence and Tom would always say hello.

“He’s a lovely guy. He’s an avid gardener, a jack of all trades. He’s a smart guy, an intelligent guy – he would have the know-how, I would say, for survival.”

As well as Phillips' sister, community members have shared their relief that the family have been found safe.

Speaking to Stuff, Ōtorohanga District Mayor Max Baxter said he was in disbelief when he heard the news.

“I’m really happy… I am so pleased for the Phillips family, the mother and the community.”

‘Thought it was over’

John Haddad of Ōtorohanga has run Karam & John Haddad Menswear in the King Country town for decades.

“We all thought it was over,” he said.

“Especially when the vehicle was found, it makes you think a rogue wave might have got them.

“I have no idea where the family could have been.”

He said the feeling in the community was horrible and sad, and made you feel like breaking down just thinking about it.

Haddad knows the Phillips family well but said he’d never met Thomas.

“I don’t remember him [Thomas]. I live on the street, I’ve been here 55 years, I’m always in the shop but he didn’t jog my memory at all. I have no idea what he does for a job, or who he is.”

Haddad said seeing Phillips' photo in the paper he looked just like his father.

“I’m sure they will all be relieved,” Haddad said.

“I can’t imagine how great they will be feeling now. It was like a bag of cement sitting on your shoulders.”