- It's been more than 500 days since Jubilee Dawson last saw her younger siblings. She has no idea where they are. - My name's Jubilee. I was born in Oparau. I'm currently doing a sparkie apprenticeship... and I am the second-oldest sister of Jayda, Maverick and Ember. The last year and a half or so, while the kids have been missing, have been hard on myself and my family. - Is that something that's constantly on your mind? - It's hard to keep going through life as you would day to day and worrying about... my siblings and just... not knowing that they're OK and having to just push it to the back of my mind. - What's your biggest fear? - My biggest fear is that they're out there wondering why we haven't come to get them. - Is that why you've decided to speak? - And also just that it's been so long... (EMOTIONALLY) and there's nothing else we can really do. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2023 (SOMBRE MUSIC) (BIRDS CHIRP) - Every year, more than 11,000 New Zealanders are reported missing. Most turn up within 72 hours; others simply vanish. In December 2021, siblings Jayda, Maverick and Ember went missing from their grandparents' farm here in Marokopa. But you won't find missing persons flyers; their plight is no longer front-page news. So how is it that three tamariki have simply disappeared? The short answer is they've been taken by their father, Tom Phillips ` Jubilee's former stepfather ` who was in a custody dispute with Jubilee's mother over the children. - Coming here today, like, what I wanted to get across was that my siblings are people. They're real kids. They're the ones that are missing out. They're the ones that are gonna have to deal with the consequences of what's happening and pay the price at the end of the day. They're gonna have, like, social issues. They're gonna be missing out on a whole bunch of social skills. They're probably gonna have childhood trauma from this. Like, a year and a half is a really long time. I remember when things happened when I was younger. Like, things that lasted months, they just seemed like a big period of my life. And I think this is gonna be a year and a half of... bad memories, if I'm being honest. Like, I can't imagine them having a good time for a year and a half without seeing their family and without being able to have friends and be kids, basically. - Can you describe your siblings for us? - Jayda is the more outgoing one, I'd say. She's quite... Hold on, there's a word that I thought of earlier. Like, not a diva, but... - Extroverted? - Yeah, she's really outgoing, um... and cheeky. She's definitely the most confident of the three and just loves talking to everybody. Maverick is more introverted, I'd say. He's more shy and independent, and he'll go off and play by himself. He doesn't like getting photos taken or attention. Ember is the youngest and more sweet and bubbly. I still call them all ba` I still was calling them all babies. VOICE CRACKS: They didn't like that. When they first went missing, they were 5, 7 and 8. Jayda's birthday is next month ` that means they've all missed out on a couple of birthdays each. Obviously, a lot of time has passed, and they're all going to look different and be different. TEARFULLY: Um, just not getting to see them grow up and... (SNIFFLES) Sorry, I thought I wasn't gonna cry. - We can't share details of the Phillips' custody case ` it's still before the Family Court ` but what we can say is that those close to the children's disappearance are convinced that a tight-knit circle of supporters is helping Tom Phillips to keep them hidden. - They could be in a remote location anywhere in the country and being supported by a person or persons who believe in the cause, believe that what Tom's doing is the right thing. They believe that he should retain care and custody of the children, so they're willing to support him and commit a criminal act to do that. They could still be in the bush, yes, but we can't just be so narrow to think that's the only place we're searching. They could be anywhere in the country. - South Waikato area commander Will Loughrin is in charge of the police investigation. Is Tom Phillips dangerous? - Tom Phillips is a father who has decided that instead of dealing with the Family Court, he has chosen a path that we` we wish he hadn't, which is to take his kids away from all their family, all their loved ones because of a view that he doesn't agree with ` a Family Court` or possible Family Court decisions. - So what do we know about Tom Phillips? Like the valley where he grew up, Tom's pretty remote. He was homeschooling the children, and Marokopa locals describe him as 'friendly but private'. Jubilee and her sister Storm lived with Phillips for around eight years when he was in a relationship with their mother. You lived with Tom ` what's he like? - He's very... Hmm. He's... very determined. I just feel like he didn't like me growing up, and anything that made me happy or gave me joy, he didn't like seeing that. - We've tried to learn more about Tom, but he doesn't have any online footprint; he does have a strong independent streak. - Tom is someone who doesn't live a mainstream lifestyle. He doesn't engage in social media. He is really guarded in terms of his use of mainstream banks and all sorts of things like that. - Is he anti-establishment? - I don't want to go into that. - Is there any chance he could be involved in an anti-government movement or organisation? - I don't wanna touch on that too much, but what I can say is that as part of our profiling of Tom, in terms of what makes Tom tick, all those factors are considered and are assessed to allow us to make a really informed view of what` who Tom is, what makes him tick and what motivates him. - Is it possible that he has a lack of trust of authority? - Yep. That is definitely a factor, that Tom has a viewpoint, and that viewpoint is he likes to exist off the grid. - Tonight on 1 News ` they've been missing since Saturday. The search continues for a man and his three young children along Waikato's remote west coast. - Tom first went off the grid with his children in September 2021, their disappearance sparking an extensive search and rescue operation on land, sea and air. - The Eagle helicopter has been deployed from Auckland, as well as the use of three drones driven by Fire and Emergency New Zealand. In addition to that, we have support from the coastguard with a fixed-wing plane that's supporting the rescue efforts. - So when they went missing the first time, we had family come down from Whangarei, up from the South Island. Just heaps of family. We were going out to the beach every day. - The search saw the isolated west coast settlement of Marokopa thrust into the spotlight for weeks. - The news just in ` the father and his three children missing for almost three weeks have been found. - 19 days later, Tom Phillips surprised everyone when he and the children showed up at his parents', Neville and Julia's farm, 15 K's north of the search area. - When the kids came back the first time, it was the most that I cried over the whole... course of the 19 days, I think it was. Um... yeah, just relief. - Did you get to see them? - When they came back, they came home in the evening. The police were only notified the next morning, so Mum got a call around 10 or something. I was in Paeroa at the time. I went straight to Marokopa... um... and the police tried to stop us from seeing the kids. - But did you get to see them that day? - Yes, briefly for about... less than five minutes that day. They'd tried to stop Mum prior to me getting there as well. She got about 10 minutes with them, but, yeah, we did see them. Me and Storm went back a couple of times. Storm flew straight up from the South Island as well and got there the next day, I think. - How were they? Were they happy to see you? - Yes. They were asking me and Storm to stay the night. They kept saying there were spare rooms. They were told they weren't allowed to talk about it, their 'camping trip'. (SCOFFS SOFTLY) They did say their rice went mouldy. They said they were near water, and Maverick said they did lots of walking. That is all the information that they gave us. - Do you think they understood they were missing? - Yeah, so, the first time they came back, Mum took them to the playground and Jayda told a random stranger` Well, she asked a random stranger if she knew who they were. So I think they're well aware that they're missing. They were well aware that they were on TV the first time. And I think they do know that they're not supposed to be gone. - But they would soon be gone again. Within weeks, Tom disappeared from his parents', Neville and Julia Phillips' farm, for a second time after being charged with wasting police resources. - Right. You've not had contact with him in recent times? - Jayda now 10, Maverick 8 and Ember 7 haven't been seen since. How did you find out that they'd gone again? - When they went missing this time around... Mum had actually called Neville and Julia to speak with the kids... and she was told that they... were gone and they haven't seen Tom for a few days already, so Mum called the police straight away. - How did you feel, Jubilee? - When... we tried to raise alarm bells the second time, I think people were a lot more, um... resistant, I think, just because of the first time, how it was a waste of resources. - You have done a lot, though. Tell us about what you've done. - We started looking for them initially... around the bush. Like, obviously, just myself... and Mum, we wouldn't find them. But we looked around the entrance to the bush in case he had left his` the bike that he was getting around on there or hid anything close to the... entrance of the bush. We tried to organise a search for them. That was quickly called off by the police. They had concerns about public safety. The bush in Marokopa is... not easy-going. - What's your best guess about where they might be? - I think they'd either be in the bush and Tom would be not receiving help, which I hope isn't the case, or I think somebody is helping him. - After so long without any sightings, it raises serious concerns about the welfare of the children. Do you have any proof of life? - There are, for operational reasons, things I can't reveal, which can give us that indication that they are likely alive. But at this stage, I can't reveal that to you because of some of the sensitivities around it. - Is that the only piece of evidence? Is there any other evidence you can share with us to say that they are alive? - Not at this stage. There are some stuff that I can't disclose to you because of just operational reasons, but that is one factor ` that they are deceased ` but we're working on the basis that Tom and the kids are still alive, and we are working on finding them. - Jubilee says the stress and despair has taken a huge toll on her mum. Tell us how Mum's doing. How's she going? - Mum's taking this really hard, I think. Every day is tough, and this situation has been particularly hard on my mum. (TENSE MUSIC) - Mum was entitled to see the children. Every conversation with Mum's hard, because when I ring her and update her on how things are going, I sense in her voice there's that hope that I'm about to tell her that the kids have been found safe and well. So those conversations are hard with Mum, because she just wants to see her children, as every Mum should. - Have these kids been abducted? - So, there's been questions asked around the offences of abduction and kidnapping, and I don't want to go too deep into that, but what we are dealing with is a breach of the Family Court order. - How would you characterise this case? - Quite simply, I would call this 'parental abduction'. It's a criminal offence with intent to hide the children from their wider family, and it should be investigated as such. - Chris Budge has been an investigator for 40 years. He began his career in the military police and is an expert in forensic computing and electronic crime. He became involved in the search for the Phillips children last year, and has spent hundreds of hours investigating their case. - The scariest option is that they're not alive, that due to misadventure or by accident, something's happened, and they're no longer with us. The best-case scenario, which is probably leaning more towards what I think is actually happening, is that they're located on a farm no more than 20km to 100km away from their grandparents, and they are located in a building, but they are definitely being helped by somebody else. (SLIDE GUITAR MUSIC) - Today Chris is meeting us in Marokopa to share his views on the case. Kia ora, Chris. - Morena. - Thanks for meeting us. Do you wanna jump in? - Absolutely. - We head towards Kiritehere Beach, where Tom Phillips' Toyota Hilux was found parked below the low-tide mark the first time he disappeared with the children in September 2021. The vehicle was swamped with seawater, but there was no sign of him or his three young children. - Looking at the 4x4 that was off the beach way up here is that they obviously didn't go out and try to kill themselves. He was in the middle of a custody battle with his ex-wife, and he was trying an impact. And the only reason, as a father, if I saw that, somebody would be trying to do some psychological battle. - So the vehicle, you think, was a plant? - I think it was a plant. - When Tom re-emerged with the children the first time they went missing, he told police they'd been camping in the back blocks of Kiritehere. Chris isn't convinced. - In hindsight, I don't think it believable. Absolutely at the time, from the information that was given to the police, they had no other option but to believe what Tom was saying, but none of it was verified, and Tom was exceedingly cagey and avoided those questions with the police. - We still don't know to this day the exact location of where they were. - Why is that? - Just the denseness of where they were, and that location has never been revealed to us. - So it wasn't forthcoming from Tom Phillips? - No. No. - Is that a concern for you? - It's just a factor in all of this. Yep, frustrating, but we would like to have known where they were. - I was talking to somebody yesterday, and we sort of went up and said, 'Hey, what's your ideas about Tom and others?' And we had more than one person turn round and said, 'He's not much of a bushman, 'and I don't think he's very far away from here, like, within 20km of Marokopa.' So that brings an interesting concept, and that fits in with at least one of the hypotheses that he's thinking about. But if he's no good at bush, did he actually ever go bush to start with, and is he bush now? Those are the sort of questions that should be asked in a case review to understand everything that was said, and maybe another opinion might pop out with a new set of eyes. - While we're in Marokopa, Mata producer Annabelle Lee-Mather and I decide to visit the Phillips' family farm. (INTRIGUING MUSIC) When we call by, there's no one home. But a few days later, we're contacted by Tom's mother, Julia. She says the Phillips family have no idea where Tom is, and she agrees to give us a written statement. (READS STATEMENT) (CONTINUES READING STATEMENT) As another winter rolls around and interest in the case fades away, Chris thinks more resource is needed. What do you think of the police investigation? - I think police are tied up with the question of resourcing, manpower and money. You've got ram-raids going on, you've got gang activity. This will be low on their priority scale; it's a no-win for them, unfortunately. - What more could police be doing? - So maybe what the police could do is just go back through and look at the original statements, look at the original information. I know they say that they're currently looking at intelligence, so what is that intelligence? In my mind, it's probably people ringing up every now and again, and maybe the local staff here going around doing some questioning, but actually zero in on the scenario that they're nowhere in the bush, they're not anywhere else in the country ` they are local ` and just rethink things again and just give it another go. What scares me is that when does a cold case become a cold case, so therefore nobody looks at it? Now, if we go another year, it's gonna drop into that box and nobody's going to look at it unless something substantive has come forward. - Meanwhile, Jubilee and her sister are doing what they can to help find their siblings. They've set up a Facebook page to raise awareness of the case and put up a $10,000 reward for information. Tell us about the Missing Marokopa Children Facebook page. - So, I actually started that Facebook page because I was annoyed about all the media content and Facebook comments. I feel like people on the internet have zero sense of repercussions. - Were you surprised by the comments, by the reaction on there? - Yeah, like, I couldn't imagine any of my friends logging on to Facebook and saying some of the shit I see on there. Some of it's just blatant lies, like people that we don't even know commenting random stuff. Like, I've shown Mum some of the comments, and she's like, 'I don't even know who that is.' Yeah, a lot of horrible people. - Tell us about the reward. - Yeah, so last year on the one-year anniversary of the kids being missing, we put out a $10,000 reward... for the safe return of the children. Just over $5000 of that money came from a Givealittle page that my sister had made. The rest of the money, she put forward herself. She had actually taken out a personal loan with the bank to get that money. - Have you raised that with police? Have you asked the police about reward money? - Yeah, so, we were told by the police that they can't put out a reward cos it sets a precedent and... more children will go missing or more families going through the same thing... will expect the same thing. I feel like they could put a reward out. It's coming up two years... and I'm just wondering how many more we're gonna have to wait. - The family, they fundraised $10,000, and I don't think that would have been enough to help anybody. I know it's got a few other investigators out and about thinking that they could find something, but I don't think that's gonna help in regards to somebody providing information. If the police offer $50,000 and $100,000 for a homicide more than 30 years old, couldn't that be better spent on live victims right now? (MELANCHOLIC MUSIC) - A year and a half on, there's still no sign of the children... and no word on if or when they'll be brought home. Does this case keep you up at night? - This case does occupy my mind regularly. - What do you think is the most likely scenario? - There are a number of scenarios that the investigation team are working through, so it would be unfair for me to give one more weight than others, but all I can, I guess, reassure the public is there are` all scenarios are being looked at and explored by the team working on this. - What is your message to Tom Phillips or those who might be helping him? - My message to Tom is to bring this to a resolution and come home. Your parents, your siblings, your wider whanau want to see yourself and the kids. They deserve that upbringing with their whanau, and we want to resolve this for everyone's sake. It cannot continue. - Over the last year and a half, Jayda, Maverick and Ember have missed out on a lot ` birthdays, Christmases, education, time with friends and whanau. Their big sister says they deserve the chance of a normal life. - I want people to understand that these are... (VOICE CRACKS) ...kids. Like, they're just... (BREATHES SHAKILY) I think that they're just gonna be traumatised, um... and scared. I decided to come today just because it has... been such a long... timeframe. We've... tried to do what we can, and I feel like this is our last option... just personifying the kids a bit and getting people to realise that they're real people. - And you guys love them. - Yes. We love them very much, and we're... Yeah, we're just waiting for them to come home. - If by any chance Jayda, Maverick and Ember see this interview, what do you want them to know? - When the kids come back and when they get older, I want them to know that they were missed and (VOICE BREAKS) that we were waiting for them. - He taura here tangata e kore e motu. (GENTLE ACOUSTIC MUSIC) (GENTLE ACOUSTIC MUSIC CONTINUES) Captions by Kitty Wasasala. Edited by Tom Clarke. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2023 - Ko te reo te take. - Irirangi Te Motu ` ka nui te mihi.