A fugitive father and his three children have been spotted together for the first time in nearly three years, along the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

Just before Christmas 2021, Tom Phillips fled into the Waikato wilderness with his children Ember, 8, Maverick, 9, and Jayda, 11, following a dispute with their mother.

Phillips has not been seen since last November after he allegedly stole a quad bike from a rural property and broke into a shop in Piopio. CCTV footage showed two figures on a street, believed to be him and one of the children.

The group was seen together last Thursday on Marokopa farmland, in New Zealand’s Waikato region, after a chance encounter with teenage pig hunters who pulled out their phones and began filming.

In the footage, obtained by 1News, a man can be seen carrying a backpack, followed by three children – all wearing camouflage gear, and also carrying packs – walking single-file through rugged terrain.

Detective inspector Andrew Saunders described the sighting as “credible”, with police believing it to be Phillips and his three children, who he does not have legal custody of.

Patrols began throughout the area on Thursday night and a search was launched the following morning, but the group has not been seen.

“While we cannot go into detail, we want to reassure the public that we have the resources in place to respond to any information or reports of sightings that come in,” Saunders said.

“Our focus is very much on the safe return of Jayda, Maverick and Ember to their whānau [family] and we are doing all that we can to make that happen.”

In September 2021, Phillips and the children were reported missing and his ute was found abandoned, resulting in a major search operation across land and sea.

Nineteen days later, they walked into his parents’ farmhouse just outside Marokopa and Phillips claimed he had taken his children on an extended camping trip. He was charged with wasting police time and resources.

But fewer than three months later, the four were reported missing again and when Phillips failed to appear at a January court appearance, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The children’s mother, who last saw them in 2021, told the New Zealand Herald she was “relieved” to know they are alive.

“I’m so happy that they’re all there,” she said, instantly recognising each child. “I’m so relieved to see all three of my babies. They’re all alive.”

Phillips’ mother, Julia, also told the Herald she was happy to see her grandchildren and would “love for them to come home”.

“We were relieved to see the children alive and well,” she said. “We thought they would be but you never know.”

John McOviney said his 16-year-old grandchild was one of the pig hunters who spotted the group.

He told 1News the teens were “only about 50m” from the group when they first saw them, before going closer and speaking with them briefly.

“He said to them, ‘What are you doing here? Who are you? Does anybody else know you’re here?’ The kid said ‘only you’, and then they just kept walking,” McOviney said.

McOviney said the teens described Phillips as having a long beard and carrying a gun, and all the kids were masked “like [they were] going into the bush for a while”.

A warrant for Phillips arrest was issued in September 2023 over an alleged aggravated robbery. Police allege that two armed people entered a bank in Te Kuiti in May and demanded cash, before fleeing on a black, farm-style motorbike.

An $80,000 reward for information leading to the location and safe return of the three children was announced in June this year by New Zealand Police. The offer expired before they were found.

Police have previously said they believe Phillips and the children were being assisted and have urged “anyone who’s doing this to please stop, do the right thing and tell Police what you know.”