Tom Phillips - NZ hide and seek champion
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@gt12 said in Tom Phillips - NZ hide and seek champion:
I know a little bit about this case as my parents are local-ish (TA / Oto).
There was a bit of chat in the community about the family dynamics, and this seems to be linked with some of the ambivalence towards pursuit of the father.
PM me if you want to know what I heard.
I got a sense that the locals must feel he's justified in his actions. Otherwise he'd be caught already
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@Tim said in Tom Phillips - NZ hide and seek champion:
Nut case, who is a violent criminal, robbed a bank, and shot at a supermarket employee. Carries a gun
This. There can be supposed justifications for those aiding and abetting him, but this guy isn't exactly an upstanding citizen himself...
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Police open to negotiating surrender terms with Tom Phillips
Phillips' family fear he may be keeping the children in hiding to avoid state care.
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The family have now gone public.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360795264/tom-phillips-family-breaks-silence-urging-him-return-kids
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@gt12 pretty obvious he is getting help as well, making the cops job that much harder.
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@taniwharugby said in Tom Phillips - NZ hide and seek champion:
@gt12 pretty obvious he is getting help as well, making the cops job that much harder.
Definitely. I know a little bit about this as it is local around my oldies place.
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Watch: New video believed to be Marokopa dad Tom Phillips and one of his children released
The footage, which also shows one of the Marokopa man's missing children, is linked to a reported break-in at a business this week.
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@mikedogz given these kids have been living 'in the bush' with thier dad for 4 years, you'd have to think, if they didnt want to stay with him, they'd be more than capable of to buggaring off?
So do they have a quad bike, or is that stolen or borrowed?
Pretty sad situation all round.
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I'm not sure this part of the story got picked up on here, but it hints at the information I was told about the background.
Police open to negotiating surrender terms with Tom Phillips
Phillips' family fear he may be keeping the children in hiding to avoid state care.
Pethybridge said she would like to explain why Phillips has disappeared, but as there are matters before the Family Court, many of the details cannot be discussed.
“I would like New Zealanders to know that when he left in December 2021 with his three children, he did have legal day-to-day care of those three children.”
But since his disappearance, the children have officially been transferred to the custody of Oranga Tamariki.
Pethybridge suspects the fact the children will be in state care when returned is a major reason Phillips remains in hiding, with Gower suggesting assurances about their custody might bring the family home. -
@gt12 hadnt they already been living in the bush briefly prior to going away again in 2021.
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@taniwharugby said in Tom Phillips - NZ hide and seek champion:
@gt12 hadnt they already been living in the bush briefly prior to going away again in 2021.
I can't remember, but he took off with the kids for a bit there due to these issues. If people are wondering why he seems to get a bit of local support, these details above probably provide enough background to make some inferences.
