Mum of 3 kids who vanished with ‘Bushman’ fugitive dad reveals heartbreaking theory after children spotted in wilderness

THE mother of three missing kids who vanished with their fugitive father has revealed a heartbreaking theory after the gang were recently spotted.

Cat believes her daughter issued a coded cry for help, after chilling footage of the three children and father, dubbed "The Bushman" emerged.

Tom Phillips, 37, has been on the run for more than two years in New Zealand with his children Jayda, Maverick and Ember.

The gang of four were spotted on private farmland in camo gear and rucksacks by a group of pig farmers.

A brief interaction between a farmer and her daughter Jayda has given a heartbroken Cat brief hope.

One of the hunters who spotted the gang told Stuff.co.nz: "I said, 'This is private property', and she was like, ''Yeah... duh'.

"Then I asked, 'Does anyone know you're on here' and she said, 'No, just you guys'."

An emotional Cat told Mata Reporters that she believed the brief conversation was a desperate plea from Jayda.

She said: "Is that a cry for help? Is that 'Does anybody know that we're here? Is anyone coming for us?'

"We don't get to hear the tone of her voice but to me, that's what I think.

'It's like she's trying to say something without actually saying something because her father is right there, and she's worried if she says the wrong thing and words it the wrong way.

"She's worried about later repercussions."

The sighting marked the first time Cat had seen any footage of her children in nearly three years and was relieved to see them alive.

She added: "It was really good, they’re carrying their own gear, it’s the best news that anybody could hope for.

"I can’t imagine what they’ve endured in these three years, it’s just wrong on so many levels."

The devastated mother said she felt that the police hadn't done enough to bring her children home.

She said: "The system has failed my children miserably from the get-go.

"They shouldn't have to live like this, they deserve so much more. They deserve to have friends, they deserve to go to the park and eat McDonald's."

She added: "I just want my babies home. I still have some of their clothes and Christmas presents from the year they disappeared.

"I don't even know what they look like now."

In her attempt to cope with the loss of her children, Cat says she tries to pretend they aren't still missing.

She has two other daughters, who are older than the three kids with their father, but admits she feels "lost".

She said: "Since they've been gone, I've lost my way. I'm not me. They were my world, they were my everything.

"I feel like I didn't fight hard enough, I didn't make enough noise. I feel like it's my fault."

Nicknamed "The Bushman", Philips, along with his kids Jayda, 10, Maverick, nine, and Ember, seven, were reported missing from the village of Marokopa on January 18, 2022.

Police in New Zealand have attempted to locate him multiple times over the past 30 months but the expert bushman managed to escape each time.

They're believed to be hiding in remote bushland.

While Philips has been spotted a few times after disappearing, new footage shows the fugitive dad along with his kids together for the first time since they vanished.

The sighting is understood to have taken place on Waikato's west coast, around 1.8 miles south of Marakopa - the family's former home.

Cops confirmed the sighting was credible, but failed to locate the family even after an extensive search operation.

Philips is believed to have crafted a network of refuges around the area, The Times report.

In June, New Zealand cops posted a £38,500 (NZ$80,000) reward for information about the whereabouts of the missing dad and his three children.

Hundreds of armed officers alongside choppers have so far scoured the backcountry around Marokopa.

Detective ­Inspector ­Andrew Saunders said: "There’s obviously not the gold ­nugget … of this is where he is. We ­haven’t got that yet."

He added that Phillips was armed and was a risk to the community who should not approach him.

He said: "We have concerns for the welfare of the children who have been living in isolation for the past two and a half years, with no connection to others and without formal education and healthcare."

TIMELINE OF HIS DISAPPEARANCE

In September 2021, the dad and his three kids vanished for the first time after his truck was found abandoned at a beach.

When they appeared shortly afterwards he said they were on a camping trip.

Phillips had been due to appear in court charged with wasting police resources but failed to do so.

In January 2022 the dad and the three kids disappeared for the second time - never to reappear again.

Phillips was spotted in the farming town of Te Kuit last year when he robbed a bank at gunpoint before fleeing in a stolen motorcycle alongside a child.

A month later, in August, he was seen speeding in a stolen Toyota Hilux.

He was caught on CCTV in November with a child, trying to break into a store in Piopio.