Police have appealed for information after a possible sighting of fugitive father Tom Phillips and his children alongside a state highway over the weekend in the first possible sighting of the family since October last year.
A member of the public called police on Sunday to report four people dressed in camouflage sitting in a layby on State Highway 4, south of Te Kuiti, at around 8.30am.
The sighting was around 100m south of the Tikitiki Rd intersection with Aramatai Rd.
Police said the group was comprised of an adult, believed to be a man, and three other people, two of which were described as children.
“A number of enquiries have been carried out over the past two days as we work to confirm the identity of the group,” a spokesperson said.
“We are now appealing for anyone who saw this group, or who has information about their identity, to come forward, particularly anyone who has dashcam footage from the area at the time.”
Phillips disappeared with the three children in December 2021, after he was charged with wasting police resource for a previous disappearance in September.
Since then, efforts to find the fugitive family – which included searches of the area and an $80,000 reward – have proved futile.
In October last year, Phillips and his three children were filmed walking on farmland about 3km south of Marokopa by young pig hunters.
Prior to this, Phillips and his three children Jayda, Maverick and Ember hadn’t been seen together since December 12, 2021.
