Town silent on missing Marokopa family after four months in the bush
Friday, 29 April 2022
Things move slowly in Marokopa – it’s already been four months since Thomas Phillips and his three children disappeared from the family homestead, only returning once for supplies.
The isolated town is an hour’s drive from Ōtorohanga, past the world-famous Waitomo Caves and through native bush, broken only by ancient rock formations and farmland.
It is home to fewer than 100 people, and it’s obvious. The streets are deserted, wild horses gallop down the beach. The town’s one shop sits vacant, with bare shelves.
The community is tight-knit and wary of outsiders, but everyone knows the missing family’s last name.
**READ MORE:
* Wanted Marokopa dad still on the run more than one week after court no-show
* Marokopa dad Thomas Phillips a no-show in court on charge of wasting police time
* Police working with family as Marokopa man takes kids bush again
**
“No” a farmer said sternly when asked about Phillips, his faint smile turning to a piercing stare.
He, his two working dogs and his teenage daughter carried on down the beach.
A man who lives in a small cabin and caravan with his German Shepherd said he purposely kept his head down.
“In a place like this, that’s for the best,” he said, with a grin.
“We’re a close community, and we don’t want to be disparaging about anybody,” a woman said, “but I think there’s a lot of people that believe what the police are saying – that someone is helping him.”
”As everyone’s probably said, I’m a bit concerned about the kids, especially now it’s getting colder.
“I think everyone’s a bit over it really.”
Alarm bells were first sounded after Phillips’ ute was found below the tideline at Kiritehere Beach on September 11.
The child seats in the back were empty, the keys were under the driver’s side mat.
Phillips, and his children Jayda Jin, Maverick and Ember – then aged 8, 6, and 5 – live in Ōtorohanga, but had been at his family farm on Marokopa Rd.
Police and search and rescue volunteers scoured the desolate coast to no avail.
Extensive searches, including with heat-detecting drones, a helicopter, a fixed-wing plane, an IRB and a jet ski, found nothing.
While there were concerns the family might have been swept off the rocks during the weekend of stormy weather, the wider Phillips family had remained hopeful the father had taken his children on a camping trip.
After 18 days, the family unexpectedly walked through the door.
They survived in a tent in the dense bush, about 15 kilometres away from the coast.
Phillips went bush with his children for a second time in December, prompting police monitoring but no search.
He failed to appear in the Te Kūiti District Court at 11am on January 12 on a single charge of causing wasteful deployment of police personnel and resources. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
Two months later, Phillips’ family told the police he returned to a family home briefly in February to pick up supplies, Waikato west area commander Inspector Will Loughrin said.
“He provided reassurances to his family that he and his children were well, however did not disclose where they were living.”
When Stuff returned again this week, Phillips' mother Julia Phillips was unforthcoming.
She was singing classical music when a reporter and photographer knocked on the door.
“No” she said, waving her arms around in a big cross motion.
Thomas Phillips’ brother, Ben, lives next door with his own family.
They could be seen peering out a kitchen window as Stuff drove up the long, gravel driveway, and they poked their heads out the front door.
“No”, his wife said.
Chief executive of Child Matters Jane Searle said it was worrying the family had not been seen for four months.
“I think anyone would agree, four months in the bush is concerning.”
Searle said it was the responsibility of government agencies to step in, but Phillips had full custody of the children which made it hard for them to take action.
Even if they were located, there were limits on what the agencies could do without a breach of a court order, she said.
Oranga Tamariki and the Children’s Commissioner refused to comment.
The children’s mother, whose name has not been released, was worried.
She hasn’t seen her children since December 2, when she threw a birthday party for Maverick.
Asked if she had a message for Phillips, she said no. “He never listens. It has always been his way or no way.”
Tramping expert and conservation writer Shaun Barnett said there was no way Phillips and his children could survive in the bush without help.
“You’d have to be coming in and out.”
Barnett has spent time in the bush near Marokopa and said finding enough water and shelter would not be difficult – the challenge was food.
Carrying food and water for a 10-day tramping trip was a big ask for one person, he said, let alone for four people and for months.
“If you are a good hunter, you could keep yourself on meat, but that won’t keep you healthy.”
You would need vitamin C, fruit, and vegetables, he said.
“Straight meat would be tough on the system.”
The police also believe Phillips has helpers.
Western Waikato area commander inspector William Loughrin said officers were “frustrated by the lack of information being disclosed”.
“We believe there are people who know Tom that have vital information which will help us. We strongly urge them to share these details with us as soon as possible.”
He said police were in ongoing contact with his family and the community in efforts to find them.