Tom Phillips: How four-year hunt for New Zealand dad unfolded

After a handful of chance encounters and brief sightings, the fugitive was shot dead on Monday morning.

Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListTo the Ends of The Earth EarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersWatch LiveHow four-year hunt for NZ dad on the run with his children unfolded41 minutes agoShareSaveAleks PhillipsBBC NewsShareSaveWatch: Police issue statement after fugitive's children foundOn 11 September 2021, Tom Phillips and his three children went missing for the first time.

His Toyota Hilux was found parked below a tide line at a beach near his parents' home in Marokopa on New Zealand's North Island. Police launched a massive search operation by land, sea and air.

Less than three weeks later, the family returned home, with the father claiming they had been on a camping trip.

Then, on 12 December that year, they vanished again. Aside from a few chance sightings and grainy frames of CCTV footage, the bushman and his three children had not been seen since.

That was, until the early hours of Monday morning, when police responding to a report of an attempted burglary entered into a shoot-out that resulted in Mr Phillips' death, ending a four-year manhunt.