Jordan Dunn: Newstalk ZB reporter on the ongoing search for Tom Phillips' two missing children

A number of police resources have been deployed to try and find Marokopa fugitive Tom Phillips' two missing children before it gets dark - after he was shot dead by an officer in the Waikato this morning.

A quad bike being ridden by him and one of his children was stopped by police spikes after a burglary in Piopio.

An approaching officer was then shot multiple times, including in the head, and is receiving surgery on his eye.

A second officer arrived at the scene and shot the gunman dead. 

Newstalk ZB reporter Jordan Dunn says the authorities will be conducting this search 'meticulously' and 'strategically', as there's a good chance the missing children aren't alone.

"They do say that there's a good chance they're alone, but the key there is that they're not making assumptions. They're going out there as if there is the possibility that they are being aided."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The police, as I said, have just spoken very not

(00:02):
very long ago at the Cordon Newshooks. They'd be journalist
Jordan Done was there and was with us. Now, hey, Jordan, Hey,
ether any idea where they're searching.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Well, that's kind of the interesting thing about this. As
you said, one of the children they are talking to
and they say is cooperating. Well, but what the indication
they've got from this child is that there's no exact
place for it is as you were saying earlier, they're
saying these search is kind of a bunch of spots,
which is in this as you know, as you know,
a very dense bush area. And so they've got all

(00:32):
these people out, they got fifty police officers, they got
the Eagle helicopter around. I guess they're just doing everything
they can before it goes dark to search for these
two kids.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
What was the impression that you got from the way
that the police were talking about whether the kids are
accompanied or not.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
It sounds uncertain, I think, but they do say that
there's a good chance that they're alone. But the key
there is that they're not making any assumptions. They're going
out there as if there is the possibility that they
are being aided. They're going about this like there is
a chance that there are people who are helping them
hide perhaps, And I think all of that means that
they're going to be doing this very meticulously, very strategically,

(01:09):
and the off chance that that is the case, that
they aren't actually alone.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
Yeah, and body is still the body of Tom Phillips
still lying where he was shot.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yeah, that's right. We're at a Courton which is kind
of an intersection, which is on the way to Matakopa.
But we actually can't see the body. We can't see
the scene examination anything like that. The impression is that
it's quite a way down the road. There are police
coming and going. They arrive, was even an ambulance coming earlier.
We know it's not so associated with the children, and
that's what they've said. They haven't given an indication of

(01:37):
when it's going to leave. They just told us the
scene examination is still taking place.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
What are they taken from earlier this morning? From PGG writes, And.

Speaker 2 (01:46):
They were earlier they weren't actually telling us that we're
saying it was farming supplies. So they have told us
now that it appears to be clothed. It appears to be,
you know, shoes, just that sort of thing. It just
sounds like basic necessities are nothing, you know, nothing like
weapons or along er.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Okay, you no other press conferences scheduled for the rest
of the day, are they.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
Well, they said not not schedule at the stage. So
they said, if they do find the children, they're going
to let us know as soon as possible. So it's
the view there is a very there is a chance
that we're going to be hearing later this evening. Other
than that they're going to be searching through the night.
They tell us, hopefully we'll have an update some time tomorrow.
They're going to be doing it around author Hunger that
I believe most of the police and media are being
stationed there, and that's why listen, Jordan.

Speaker 1 (02:26):
Just a question. I've got a text to here saying
why don't the police take the young one, the twelve
year old, and actually go bush with her and try
to find.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
The family here? The next one question? And I asked
the cops that myself, why don't you bring the kid
out here? Ask them to point out where they're going,
that sort of thing, And they didn't rule it out.
So there is the possibility that are still going to happen.
But I do want to mention that the burglary last
night was in the middle of the night, so there's
not the full possibility that they could point out where
it is, considering they would have list this area in

(02:54):
pitch darkness, and which is actually an interesting point as well.
When the police officer came upon Tom Phillips, they said
it was a complete surprise because, as I said, it
was patch black. They had no idea where they were
to have happened.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
Yeah, absolutely, Jordan, thanks very much. Make appreciate it, Jordan done.
News talk z'b journalists. Now what we have got which
is available online so you can head to the Herald's website.
You will see it. There are photographs of the scene
where Tom Phillips has died, and what you can see
from that that you're not going to see the body,
it's been blurred out, but what you are going to
see is kind of how close everything is. The shooting

(03:28):
was really close range. Right, This is Tom Phillips opening
fire on the police officer. And remember it's with high
powered rifle. His body, Phip Phillips's body is probably lying
I reckon only five or six meters away from the
front of the police car. The police car has the
driver door open, also has the passenger door behind that open.
Also has and I think you can read into this,

(03:48):
the boot open. At least four bullets have pierced the
front window. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen
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