“17 days of hell”: Missing man charged for wasting police time
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A New Zealand man who went missing with his three children has been charged with wasting police resources following a 17-day search for them.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thomas Phillips, 34, is due to appear in the Te Kuiti District Court in November in relation to the search and rescue operation called Operation Marokopa.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The man will be appearing on the 5th of November on a charge of causing wasteful deployment of police personnel and resources,” </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/marokopa-mystery-father-three-kids-spent-17-days-in-bush-man-charged-with-wasting-police-time/5ZYETBLUYJRDDQIDWLVKIY3PJY/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">police said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Operation Marokopa was related to the search for Mr Philips and his three young children: Jayda Jin, 8; Maverick Callum-Phillips, 6; and Ember Phillips, 5.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The family went missing on September 11 in a remote area of Marokopa, on New Zealand’s North Island.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The search began on September 12, when Mr Philips’ car was discovered below the tideline at nearby Kiritehere Beach.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On September 28, Mr Phillips and his children </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/travel-trouble/new-zealand-family-returns-home-safe-after-12-days-missing" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">appeared at his parents’ family home</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in Marokopa.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though he is yet to speak publicly about the disappearance, his family say he had taken the children camping in dense bush.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He apologised to his sister for putting the family through the lengthy ordeal.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Inspector Will Loughrin, Waikato West Area Commander, said the disappearance of Mr Phillips and his children put the rest of their family through “17 days of hell”.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Police said it was unclear how the group survived for so long in the rough conditions of the bush.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“They were using a tent. They were in dense bush area.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Inspector Loughrin said the group had set up a tent in an area about 15km away from where Mr Phillips’ ute was found.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When he announced their return, Inspector Loughrin also said it was unknown how they got around the remote, forested areas, or whether they had any help.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The search effort saw police deploy a fixed-wing plane and drones to search the area, with the assistance of the Coastguard and Raglan and Taranaki surf lifesaving teams.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mayor John Robertson said the family’s sudden reappearance was “unreal” when interviewed at the time.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“After three weeks, all the sorts of emotions you go through of all those initial days of hope. We knew he was a good bushman … most thought he’d gone to the bush,” Mr Robertson said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“And then, you know, the search changed over the days. And now - wow. Most of us thought we would never see (this).”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mr Robertson said it would be difficult to find someone in the area where Mr Phillips’ car was discovered.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You really have to know it, but I guess he’s a bushman and he would know the area well,” Mr Robertson said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I guess he could live in a tent, though I don’t know the details of how long he was in the bush or where he was.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“That’s another mystery to this. Three weeks is a lot of time for kids to be with him and survive all that.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Police said they would provide no further comments as the matter was before the courts.</span></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: Waikato Police / Facebook</span></em></p>
