Revealed: Inside the secret code used by dad on the run with his three kids in New Zealand wilderness

Supporters of a father who fled into the New Zealand wilderness with his children three years ago are using a secret code to tell him when police are near and supplies are running low.

Tom Phillips ran into the hills around Marokopa, south of Auckland, in December 2021 with Jayda, 11, Maverick, nine, and Ember, eight, and was feared dead until October 3 when they were spotted wandering in a nearby building.

Teenage pig hunters, who initially thought they were poachers, filmed the family as they walked past dress army gear with hoods and backpacks.

The sighting sparked a police investigation that was largely dormant for three years, but efforts failed and the family has not been seen since.

Some locals think Phillips is a hero who merely tried to protect his children from the family courts, while others believe he should return the children to their mother, Cat, and surrender himself.

But they all agree that Phillips is getting help from others in the area, citing the unlikelihood that he will evade police and survive two freezing winters for three years with small children.

Now Daily Mail Australia can reveal his aides are leaving secret signs around their properties to alert Phillips to changes in the situation.

In the photo: the Phillips family walking through the hills around Marokopa on October 3

A local resident, who did not want to be named, said: “They have codes.”

“Something like a red tea towel on the line today means your supply is ready.”

“A pair of socks hanging in the window means you shouldn’t go near the place because there are police there.”

“I’m sure.”

He described the community as close-knit, friendly and willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

“You know, when you’re out in the country and you haven’t been convicted or anything, I think people like that give you the benefit of the doubt, as they say,” he explained.

“They give you a bag of chocolates and some sugar and tea, if you’re on the road I’d probably do the same.”

The Phillips family has been wandering through farmland and dense forest for three years (photo: the wilderness around Marokopa)

A local resident said people have secret codes to tell Phillips when police are nearby. In the photo: the city of Marokopa

Phillips is wanted by police on charges of theft and breaching a custody order, but he has no convictions.

The man said his main concern would be the well-being of the children, as they have been without proper health care for three years.

“They should go to school,” he added.

‘But it is commendable that he takes such good care of the children because he cannot take them to a hospital without reporting them.

“Regardless of what the police said about the guy, I think he did a pretty good job.”

Daily Mail Australia revealed this week that locals do not believe Phillips was the thief who robbed an ANZ bank in Te Kuiti in 2023, despite police reports.

They know who the real robber was.

Pictured: Two people on a motorcycle, police say Phillips and his daughter, after allegedly robbing an ANZ bank

“It wasn’t Tom,” a woman said. “My girlfriend works at the bank and she knows… It wasn’t Tom.”

One of the pig hunters spoke to the eldest daughter, Jayda, as she followed her father through the hills with her face covered by a mask.

They told her the property was private.

She said, “Yeah… duh.

The teenager asked: “Does anyone know you’re here?”

She said: No, just you.’

In June 2023, an $80,000 reward was offered for information that would help locate the three children, but it expired after eight weeks with no results.