Marokopa father on run with three children

Police believewanted man Thomas Phillips is on the run with his three children. Phillips, 34, was due to appear in Te Ku¯iti District Court on Wednesday charged with causingwasteful deployment of police personnel and resources in relation to a large-scale search for him and his three children, Jayda Jin, Maverick and Ember, in September. He failed to appear in court and a warrantwas issued for his arrest. Waikato west area commander InspectorWill Loughrin said police were still trying to track him down. ‘‘Police continue to make inquiries to establish the whereabouts of TomPhillips, who we believe is currently with his three children.’’ Police were receiving useful information from members of public who, after the events of September, were aware of both what Phillips and his children looked like. Phillips went bush with his children for a second time in December, prompting police monitoring but not a search. Stuff understands he has not yet re-emerged. In court, Phillips’ lawyer Garth O’Brien appeared via audio-visual link. He confirmed his client had been advised of the court date, but had not been in contact since.