Mysterious unsolved case of three children who vanished three years ago with their dad

Over three years ago, a trio of children and their dad disappeared into the New Zealand wilderness, with their current whereabouts remaining unknown.

Back in September 2021, New Zealand man Tom Phillips took his three children, Jayda, Maverick and Ember, and vanished with them for 19 days.

When they returned, he said he'd just taken his kids on an impromptu camping trip, but their disappearance had triggered a significant police search and Phillips was charged with wasting police resources.

Phillips was told to appear before a court on 12 January the following year but he never made his court date, having once again disappeared with his three children on 9 December.

The three children have not returned home since then, while Phillips went back briefly on 9 February, 2022 to tell his family the children were safe and with him, however, he refused to say exactly where they were.

Tom Phillips and his children have been missing for over three years (NZ Police)

There have been a handful of sightings since then, but police searches for Phillips and his three children haven't managed to track them down.

In August 2023, the dad was spotted shopping in the New Zealand city of Hamilton and had stolen a Toyota Hilux, while a month later, he was charged in connection with a bank robbery where he is alleged to have used one of his children as an accomplice.

Police have suspected that Phillips and his children can't live off the land for such a long time and may be getting help from the community, as such they've offered legal immunity to anyone helping the family out that wants to come forward with information.

On 3 October last year, a man and three children wearing camo gear were spotted walking in the wilderness by a group of pig hunters.

According to police, it was a 'credible' sighting of Phillips and his children, with Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders welcoming the 'positive information', adding that it would be 'reassuring for the children's wider family'.

After the sighting, the children's mother Cat said she was 'so relieved to see all three of my babies'.

The pig hunters who'd spotted the four figures said that Phillips had a gun and they asked the group questions about who they were and what they were doing.

When the hunters asked the group whether anyone knew they were out there, one of the children answered 'only you' and then they left.

The police launched a search after the sighting but they couldn't find them.

According to The Guardian, a fresh search was launched back in March in the area around Marokopa on New Zealand's North Island. which similarly has not managed to locate the man and his three children.