Subj : Police wind back in Marokopa - but hunt for Tom Phillips continues To : All From : News Date : Fri Jun 14 2024 01:58 pm By 1News Reporters 8 mins ago Police are winding down in Marokopa in the search for missing fugitive Tom Phillips and his three children - acknowledging the community may be getting a "bit sick" of their presence. The small King Country settlement has seen an increased police presence over the past week - following the announcement of an $80,000 reward for any information leading to the location and safe return of Ember, 8, Maverick, 9, and Jayda, 10. The children have been missing since December 2021, after they were taken by their father, Tom Phillips. Phillips is currently being sought by police, and there is a warrant for his arrest related to aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding, and unlawful possession of a firearm. He does not have legal custody of the children. Speaking to 1News, Acting Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders said police were now winding down operations in Marokopa. "This is a phased approach, and we were always going to have a lot more staff in the first 72 hours of this two-week period." He said locals would still notice a police presence around the area but there won't be any more checkpoints set up. Saunders said the community has been "generally supportive" of police, but he's aware there were "mixed feelings" about whether Phillips was doing the right thing. "I'm also equally aware that they're probably a bit sick of the amount of police we've had in the last three days." Saunders said police weren't moving on because they were out of leads, saying it was a part of a phased approach to the inquiry. "We've got a large area of operation. Obviously, Marokopa is a central part of that, but it's quite a wide operation area." Police have received a slew of leads since the reward was announced three days ago. Suanders said a lot of activity was contuinuing around the Otorohanga and Honikiwi road areas. He said Phillips was likely "fully aware" of the commotion surrounding the search, as well as the reward. "We've always believed there are people helping Tom, so I'm sure he's fully aware. "While he may not be watching TV, people will get the information about this reward." Yesterday, a member of Phillips' family, Charlie Vicary, said police should forget about the missing man. "They should leave him alone because he's done nothing wrong," said Vicary. Another local also told 1News that police should "leave Tom Phillips alone". He also said if the community genuinely thought the children were in trouble, they would have alerted authorities "long before now". Saunders said he understood everyone has different opinions but "the fact is, we've alleged that Tom has committed offences, including using at least one of his children to do so". "I don't believe that using their children to commit offences is [being] a good father." He urged anyone who may have seen Phillips to contact police. --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A44 2020/02/04 (Windows/64) * Origin: S.W.A.T.S BBS Telnet swatsbbs.ddns.net:2323 (63:10/102) .