New photos have revealed the remote campsite where police discovered Tom Phillips’ children. 

Phillips, who had been on the run with his kids, Ember, nine, Maverick, ten, and Jayda, 12, for almost four years, was killed in western Waitako on Monday. 

Phillips was shot dead after police confronted him following calls to emergency services regarding an armed robbery at a farm supply shop in the rural town of Piopio, in New Zealand’s Waikato region. 

‘Our investigation will help determine what other modes of transport he may have used or others may have helped with,’ police said on Tuesday morning.

‘No one who does this to children. No one who unleashes high-powered rifles on my staff is a hero. Simple as that.’

Police said they will carry out interviews with the children. 

‘Our investigation will help determine what other modes of transport he may have used or others may have helped with.’

‘No one who does this to children. No one who unleashes high-powered rifles on my staff is a hero. Simple as that.

Chambers said police with give the Phillips children enough time as they need to settle, but there would come a time where police need to speak to them.

‘Our colleague was just going about his job and doing it in the wonderful day that he always does. To encounter an individual who was motivated to take his life is not acceptable.’

‘It’s been very, very tough on a lot of my staff. But they’ve done a remarkable job.’

 Police would not comment on if the children had seen their mother.

‘They are settled, they are comfortable. They are together.

Police say they are investigating how he was able to access weapons.

‘We are interested in how Mr Phillips was able to access multiple firearms.

‘There’s a lot of work to do over the next few months that will help us determine whether or not there is anybody else that’s been involved.’

Phillips vanished from the rural town of Marokopa on New Zealand’s North Island in December 2021 with his three children following a custody dispute with their mother.

A witness called police after spotting Phillips and his daughter Jayda, 12, dressed in ‘farm clothing’ and wearing headlamps

The pair fled on a quad bike (pictured) but were stopped an hour later by road spikes 33km away on Te Anga Road

The two missing children of Tom Phillips were found after their fugitive father was killed during a shootout with police

Despite an NZ$80,000 reward and multiple search operations, the family had been living in the wilderness ever since.

On Monday morning, Phillips and Jayda were spotted stealing from a PGG Wrightson farm supply store in Piopio.

A witness called police at about 2.30am, describing them as being in ‘farm clothing’ and wearing headlamps.

Phillips and Jayda took off on their quad bike, but were stopped by police road spikes about 33km away on Te Anga Road at 3.30am.

The pair fled on a quad bike but were stopped an hour later by road spikes 33km away on Te Anga Road.

Phillips then confronted a lone officer and shot him in the head with a high-powered rifle.

When backup arrived, police returned fire, killing Phillips. Jayda was taken into custody.

Phillips’ two other children, Maverick and Ember, were not present when he was shot, sparking an urgent bush search for the pair.

Phillips and Jayda took off on their quad bike, and were stopped by police road spikes about 33km away on Te Anga Road at 3.30am

Jayda Phillips watched on as her father was shot and killed by police

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told RNZ that Jayda provided ‘vital information to ensure a safe approach’ to help find the other kids.

She revealed her father had guns at a rural campsite where Maverick and Ember were later found. ‘We knew that there were firearms,’ Chambers said.

‘We knew that there were firearms,’ he said.

Commissioner Chambers said police discovered that Phillips and the children – Jayda, 12, Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9 – had spent time at a campsite not known to them, and that there were some structures found.

‘We know Mr Phillips has been moving around this very vast region frequently, so he hasn’t stayed in one location for the entire time,’ Commissioner Chambers said.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell also said Phillips had ‘multiple high-powered firearms’ and was ‘very unstable in his thinking’.

‘I think the whole country has seen play out in the last 24 hours just how dangerous the situation was and how it could have ended an even worse tragedy, and that would have been the loss one, two or three young lives,’ Mitchell said.

Commissioner Chambers said the officer shot by Phillips spent ‘a good chunk’ of Monday in surgery with serious injuries to his head and shoulder.

The children Ember, Maverick and Jayda (pictured) 

Members of the media stand on the side of a road where a police shootout occurred near the town of Piopio, in New Zealand’s Waikato region

‘It was very, very close for him,’ Commissioner Chambers said.

The children’s mother Cat broke her silence in a statement, saying she was relieved the ordeal had come to an end.

‘They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care,’ she said. 

‘At the same time, we are saddened by how events unfolded today. Our hope has always been that the children could be returned in a peaceful and safe way for everyone involved.’