Desperate New Zealand mum shares letter from fugitive partner who disappeared with their three children two-and-a-half years ago
A mother who has not seen her young children for more than two and a half years has shared a handwritten letter written by their fugitive father, who is believed to have kidnapped them.
The woman, who wants to be known simply as Catherine, is desperate to be reunited with Jayda, 11, Maverick, 9, and Ember, 8, who went missing along with their father Thomas Phillips from the small New Zealand town of Marokopa in December 2021 .
Hours after making an emotional public appeal, Catherine shared photos of Phillips’ two-page note, along with photos from Jayda’s last birthday when the family was together.
It is not known when the letter was sent.
In the letter, which appears to be crumpled, Phillips begs for forgiveness and for Catherine to take him back.
Catherine has shared a note written by her ex-partner Thomas Philips as the wait to be reunited with her children continues
Catherine shared a photo of her and the three children celebrating eldest daughter Jayden’s birthday
βI don’t know what to say or do to help you forgive me,β the letter begins.
Phillips says he is not desperate “to be with anyone, otherwise I would have done it,” but just wants Catherine back.
βI want to be with you, Catherine, the woman I have been in love with for seven years,β he wrote.
‘I can’t force you to forgive me, only you can make that choice.
He goes on to say that he is “sorry for anything I ever said or did to hurt you.”
‘I’ve suffered every day for the past nine months because I knew I should have done things better and I knew I messed up.
Thomas Phillips (pictured) has been on the run for two and a half years and continues to evade authorities
‘You have a beautiful personality and the happiest years of my life are because of you
‘I don’t feel complete without you. I hope you can remember the man you fell in love with and know that I make several f*** ups. I have a good heart and I mean well.β
Catherine posted on social media that she decided to share the letter to show that “all is not as it seems.”
The letter comes just two days after Catherine made a desperate video plea for help to be reunited with her children.
“I stand here before you today begging for your help to bring my babies home,” Cat pleaded in the video.
“They’re just innocent children, they don’t deserve to be treated this way, they don’t deserve the life that’s being offered to them right now.”
The plea became particularly poignant because it was delivered on what would have been Jayda’s eleventh birthday.
“She will be a young woman now and she needs her mother,” a tearful Cat explained in the Facebook video distributed by New Zealand police.
Despite numerous suspected sightings of Phillips with his children, police have been unable to track down the group
An $80,000 reward was also announced for information leading to the safe return of the children, who were reported missing by relatives in January 2022.
Despite police following up on numerous reported sightings of their father Luke Phillips, sometimes with his children, in the region around Marokopa, about a three-hour drive south of Auckland on the west coast of the North Island, the foursome remains elusive.
Cat accused Mr Phillips of endangering and robbing the children.
“Ember, like me, is asthmatic and she needs medical care that cannot be provided from land,” Cat claimed.
‘Many of you say the children are doing well and being well cared for.
‘How do you know that? Have you seen them? Or is it just bush talk?
‘What Thomas is doing is not okay. It is not okay to divide and conquer, to isolate and control.
One of many reported suspected sightings of Mr Phillips, this one last August at a Bunnings Warehouse store in Te Rapa, Hamilton
βIt’s child neglect, it’s child neglect, it’s child abuse. My babies deserve better.β
The police told me Stuff that they have received more than 100 new reports containing information about Mr. Phillips
Almost half of these reports are considered by the police to require further investigation.
While the Marokopa area remains the focus, police investigations are also underway in the surrounding areas of Honikiwi and Otorohanga.
Police are calling on anyone who has recently observed suspicious behavior in these areas to come forward.
In January, police said they believed they had narrowed their search to an area where they had credible reason to believe Phillips lived with his children.
“We believe Tom and the children are hiding in Western Waikato, in Marokopa or surrounding areas,” Acting Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders said.
Catherine has made a desperate plea for the return of her children who have been missing for two and a half years
“While the environment is challenging for investigators, we continue to dedicate resources to this operation and follow up on all reported sightings.”
However, Mr Phillips continues to evade police.
Mr Phillips, a skilled hunter with intimate knowledge of the bush, was last seen on grainy CCTV in November last year when he and another individual attempted to rob a shop in Piopio in the Waitomo District.
Dressed in army-style combat fatigues with caps pulled low and masks covering their faces, the two figures can be seen exiting a red quad bike before approaching the shop window.
Mr Phillips is then said to have destroyed the shop front before fleeing when the alarm went off.
βWe continue to assess existing evidence and new information and appeal to the community to come forward with any details that could help reunite the three children with their families,β a police spokesperson said at the time.