Tom Phillips has been on the run with his three children in New Zealand for more than three and half years and he is believed to be hiding in a remote area of the country

Police have been searching for Tom Phillips for more than three and half years(Image: NZ Police)

A mystery girlfriend could be helping a fugitive dad who vanished into the wilderness with his three children more than three and half years ago, says a former police officer.

Tom Phillips has been on the run with Jayda, 12, Maverick, 10, and nine-year-old Ember in New Zealand and the authorities have been left stumped with a lack of progress in the investigation to find them. It is believed he has been hiding out in the remote Waikato region but there have been few potential sightings of the family.

The case has been in the spotlight in New Zealand where it has divided opinion between those who see him as desperately trying to remain with his kids, and others who believe he is doing them a lot of harm by keeping them away from wider society.

Tom Phillips’s three children are missing (Image: NZ Police)

His estranged wife and mother of his children, Cat, is angry that the children are being brought up in the wilderness. The few reported sightings that have been made of the dad and the kids have been in the Waikato region which is where the family farm is in Marokopa.

There is a growing belief that for him to have remained elusive for so long, he must be receiving help. Private investigator Chris Budge, a former military policeman, has visited the area where Phillips is believed to be hiding and he thinks that he must be staying in a house or some kind of outbuilding.

While Lance Burdett, a former police detective inspector and senior crisis negotiator who now runs a security consultancy, told the Mail: “There’s information that he has a new partner who has been helping him – it’s unconfirmed but it makes sense.

A possible sighting of Phillips(Image: NZ Police)

“I think he is living in a house and people are giving him information because you can’t do nearly four years and not have help and live solely in the bush. This is not a movie, it’s reality.”

Phillips is wanted by police after being linked to an armed robbery and Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders, who has been leading the investigation, has said that the time has come for negotiation.

“Let’s work out a negotiation, and let’s get everyone out of there safely,” he said. “We’re willing to negotiate with anyone who is actually helping Tom and in communication with him.”

 Phillips is alleged to have stolen a motorcycle(Image: NZ Police)

He did not go into details about what the deal could be, but it is thought to involve the armed robbery which took place in May 2023 while Phillips was in hiding. He is alleged to have stolen a motorcycle and, accompanied by a smaller, female accomplice, held up a bank at gunpoint.

Mr Budge reportedly said: “I’ve been pushing for negotiations for three years and they’ve just been not interested. And that makes me think maybe their armed robbery case isn’t quite as strong as they thought.

“It’s rather significant that they are sort of indicating they will drop the armed robbery charges if you bring the kids out. They have not done that before – they have been staunch in saying, ‘Screw it, he’s going to jail, he’s done the offence’.”