Police at the location of one of the campsites just off the Te Anga Road near Waitomo.
Photo: Dean Purcell/New Zealand Herald via Getty Images
Police are warning that anyone entering the remote bush campsites used by fugitive Tom Phillips and his children could face prosecution for trespass, after cordons in the Waitomo area were lifted on Friday evening.
The land where Phillips lived in hiding for nearly four years is private property, and investigators say people entering the area without permission will be trespassing.
Although cordons on Te Anga Road have been lifted authorities have urged the media and the public to stay away, and said the sites remain active crime scenes as officers gather evidence.
Police at the location of one of the campsites just off the Te Anga Road near Waitomo where Tom Phillips and his children had been hiding.
Photo: Dean Purcell/New Zealand Herald via Getty Images
Phillips died on Monday after shooting and critically injuring a police officer during a confrontation following a burglary in Piopio.
Police said he opened fire after his quad bike was spiked, striking the officer in the head and shoulder before being fatally shot by officers. The injured constable remains in Waikato Hospital.
Two police vehicles and a quad bike were towed from the Te Anga Road crime scene after Tom Phillips exchanged gunfire with police.
Photo: Hayden Woodward/New Zealand Herald via Getty Images
One of Phillips’ children was detained at the scene of the shooting, and two others were located unharmed later that day in dense bush nearby.
The children are now in the care of Oranga Tamariki.
Since the incident, police have uncovered multiple makeshift camps where the family had been living. Items recovered include quad and trail bikes, tarpaulins, oil containers, tools, and even a toilet bowl.
The campsite where Tom Phillips was living with his children.
Photo: Supplied/NZ Police
Photos show tents camouflaged with netting and vegetation.
Police said a pile of rubbish captured in aerial photos and circulated by media outlets was “unrelated to the investigation”, and all relevent material had now been removed from the area.
“The quad bike and motorbike pictured are relevant to the investigation, however the pile of rubbish in the same photo is unrelated to the investigation,” police said in a statement.
Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders said the evidence indicated Phillips had help from others.
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