The parents of Tom Phillips, who vanished with his three children into the New Zealand wilderness in 2021, have made a public apology — their first comments since their fugitive son was shot dead by police a month ago.
We would like to send our sincere apology... for all the trouble, inconvenience, loss of privacy and property caused by Tom, Neville and Julia Phillips wrote in a letter published on Thursday.
We are truly sorry for all that you had to endure.
Mr. Phillips, who disappeared with his children in part due to a custody dispute, evaded capture for nearly four years, despite a nationwide search and multiple sightings. His parents stated, We in no way supported him or agreed with any of his actions in the past four years, in a letter published in King Country News.
Their son was killed in a shoot-out on September 8, where a police officer was also seriously injured. The officer has been discharged from the hospital, according to local reports. One of Mr. Phillips' children was present during the shoot-out and later provided information to help locate the two other children.
Before their disappearance, the family lived in Marokopa, surrounded by dense bush and forested terrain. Mr. Phillips was known as an experienced hunter who used his knowledge of the area to remain undetected.
Det. Sup. Ross McKay described the terrain in which Phillips kept the children as difficult, steep and almost completely obscured from all angles by dense bush. Phillips and one or more of his children were seen multiple times on CCTV while breaking into stores for supplies.
The police operation aimed primarily at locating and returning the children safely, as authorities were aware that Phillips was armed and potentially dangerous. Despite the tragedy surrounding these events, the Phillips family previously made public appeals for him to return, with heartfelt messages expressing their desire to support him.
As the investigation continues, police have limited official statements regarding the events leading to the shoot-out.
We would like to send our sincere apology... for all the trouble, inconvenience, loss of privacy and property caused by Tom, Neville and Julia Phillips wrote in a letter published on Thursday.
We are truly sorry for all that you had to endure.
Mr. Phillips, who disappeared with his children in part due to a custody dispute, evaded capture for nearly four years, despite a nationwide search and multiple sightings. His parents stated, We in no way supported him or agreed with any of his actions in the past four years, in a letter published in King Country News.
Their son was killed in a shoot-out on September 8, where a police officer was also seriously injured. The officer has been discharged from the hospital, according to local reports. One of Mr. Phillips' children was present during the shoot-out and later provided information to help locate the two other children.
Before their disappearance, the family lived in Marokopa, surrounded by dense bush and forested terrain. Mr. Phillips was known as an experienced hunter who used his knowledge of the area to remain undetected.
Det. Sup. Ross McKay described the terrain in which Phillips kept the children as difficult, steep and almost completely obscured from all angles by dense bush. Phillips and one or more of his children were seen multiple times on CCTV while breaking into stores for supplies.
The police operation aimed primarily at locating and returning the children safely, as authorities were aware that Phillips was armed and potentially dangerous. Despite the tragedy surrounding these events, the Phillips family previously made public appeals for him to return, with heartfelt messages expressing their desire to support him.
As the investigation continues, police have limited official statements regarding the events leading to the shoot-out.
