Bangkok.- The New Zealand Police The US Department of State reported Wednesday that it has launched a new search operation in a remote area in the north of the country to find Tom Phillips, a fugitive since September 2021, when he fled with his three young children without their mother's consent.
In a statement, the security force explained that it will be deployed to Marokopa, a small coastal settlement of less than 100 inhabitants, to continue the investigation into the whereabouts of these four. people.
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"This is not due to any specific sighting, it's simply a continuation of the ongoing investigation," police stressed, after a photograph circulated in recent days showing what appears to be a father with three young children walking in the distance through a grassy area in Marokopa, sparking speculation on social media.
Public broadcaster Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported that similar images have emerged on other occasions from different parts of the North Island, but none of them have led police to the whereabouts of Phillips and her children, two girls and a boy aged 9, 10, and 11.
RNZ recalled that the man disappeared with the children for the first time in September 2021 after an argument with his wife, but returned home weeks later, claiming he just wanted the children to be in nature for a while.
The court accused Phillips of wasting public funds in his search, and he was summoned to court in January 2022. However, on December 9, 2021, he fled again with his children, and authorities are still on his trail.
