Phillips family | |
|---|---|
 (Top to bottom, left to right): Tom, Ember, Jayda, and Maverick Phillips | |
| Disappeared | 9 December 2021 |
| Status | Missing for 2 years, 10 months and 29 days |
Eight-year-old Jayda Phillips, six-year-old Maverick Phillips, and five-year-old Ember Phillips disappeared with their father Tom Phillips from the isolated rural Waikato town of Marokopa on 9 December 2021. New Zealand Police believe that the children were taken by their father to a location somewhere in the western Waikato, after a dispute with their mother. Phillips is alleged to have committed a bank robbery in September 2023, but the first sighting of all three children with their father was on 3 October 2024, when they were spotted walking through Marokopa farmland. However, despite a three-day search of the area, including the use of a military helicopter, they have not yet been located.
The family had previously been considered missing for 19 days in September of the same year, sparking a major search effort. Phillips's truck was found abandoned on the Marokopa shoreline and was swamped with seawater. Almost three weeks later, Phillips returned with the children, claiming that he had taken them on a camping trip in dense bush in an effort to clear his head. He was charged with wasting police time and resources.