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new zealand The government has launched a public inquiry Tom Phillips caseWho remained missing in a remote forest with his three children for years.
The country’s Attorney-General Judith Collins said the independent investigation would determine whether government agencies had taken all practical steps to protect the safety and welfare of children.
Phillips disappeared from the rural settlement of Marokopa in December 2021 with his three children, aged 5, 7 and 8. He was at the time involved in court proceedings in relation to an earlier disappearance.
For years, they forced children to live in campsites in the bush, without access to education or health care.
In September this year, Phillips was shot by police After a robbery. During the confrontation a police officer was shot in the head and seriously injured.
One of Phillips’ children was with her at the time, and the other two were found at a temporary camping site after the shooting.
The saga began years ago
The saga began long before the family appeared in public for the first time in 2021. Phillips’ children have been the subject of family court proceedings regarding their care since 2018, according to a government document outlining the terms of the new investigation.
The investigation will examine the period leading up to the family’s disappearance, with a view to determining whether authorities made every possible effort to prevent the children’s disappearance.
The sight of Phillips, who used to commit robberies while hiding with children, constantly kept him near the spot where he had disappeared.
It has raised questions about the scale and rigor of law enforcement search efforts in New Zealand during her three-and-a-half-year disappearance. “It was clear that the children’s safety and welfare were at risk, particularly given the time since they first went missing,” the document setting up the investigation said.
The investigation will be led by a high-profile lawyer and former Simon Moore high court judge.
It is due to deliver a final report by July 2026, in which Moore will have to decide whether government agencies have engaged appropriately with the Family Court and taken all practical steps to locate and recover the children.
not the first disappearance
The authorities’ actions were investigated in part because Phillips had previously disappeared with his children.
Three months before the family went missing in December 2021, Phillips sparked a massive search and national headlines when his truck was found on a beach with no trace of him or the children.
Authorities concluded that the family had died by drowning when Phillips reappeared from the woods with the children three weeks later and said they had gone camping. When he disappeared again he faced charges in court for wasting police resources.
This time he did not return.
Phillips died in the shooting
The early-morning shootout in September put an end to what had been a long ordeal. Phillips and one of his children were stopped by a police officer as they were fleeing a robbery at a farming supply store in the small town of Waitomo.
The officer was shot at close range. Officials said he survived but will require multiple surgeries.
More officers arrived and Phillips was fatally shot. The child who was with her was taken into custody and later helped law enforcement find the campsite where the other children were waiting.
Officials said guns were also among the items found there. Law enforcement photos released of camping sites used by the family show grim and dirty camps.
Authorities have not disclosed details about the children’s current whereabouts, citing the need for privacy.
Judges’ orders imposed since the children’s recovery have prevented news outlets from reporting some details of the case. Some national outlets are challenging the decisions in court.
Demand for an investigation is growing due to the secrecy surrounding what officials knew and what actions they took.
Case inspires debate
Questions about the officers’ actions have sparked heated debate in New Zealand and made global news headlines. A documentary about the case is in production and journalists have gathered at the small settlement where the family lived.
News outlets have questioned why calls for police to help locate the family began only after his disappearance, when Phillips was charged with armed robbery.
After that, authorities regularly urged people who knew of the family’s whereabouts to come forward, including offering a large reward that was never collected.
Police believe Phillips was being helped by others in the area and efforts are ongoing to identify his possible associates.