Chris Budge: Private Investigator on the $80 thousand reward in the Phillips children missing person case

Police have already received tips on the back of the $80 thousand reward offered in the case of the Phillips children. 

The now eight, nine, and ten year olds, along with their father Tom Phillips, have been missing since 2021. 

They're believed to be in western Waikato, near or in Marokopa. 

Police have given two weeks for the reward to be claimed and say information has been coming in since yesterday's announcement. 

Private Investigator Chris Budge told Mike Hosking that it's the best path forward for Police. 

He says it's much more economical than using spending money on helicopters and manpower to search. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
New twist in the matter Coopa Tom Phillips case. So
police have put up this eighty thousand dollars reward for
information Jada, Maverick and m but we were taken by
their dad December twenty twenty one. Reward also includes the
possibility of immunity for anyone who may have been assisting Phillips. Now,
private investigator Chris Budge is on listen. He's well this Chris,
very good morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Morning Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
How unusual is all of this?

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Well, what's unusual with this is to remember that back
in December twenty one, when the family first informed the
police that Tom and the kids have gone missing, their
attitude was this was a family matter before the courts
around custody, so to be here. They weren't really interested
in the early days to do much around this. It
wasn't until the arm robbery that the police really ticked

(00:45):
them to gear and there was a leadership change within
the police and their tactics sort of changed. Eighty thousand dollars, Yes,
it's a reasonabyund money, but if you then compare it
against putting helicopters down the air and doing searching with manpower, etc.
It's actually an economical way to move forward. Did the
police drop Jesus early on? Yes, I'm to be fair,

(01:09):
I've been a fairly hard critic of the police in
the early days. Whilst they they went down occasionally the
local drums network down there would see the police as
soon as they came in. They weren't that visual. People
were telling me that they hadn't seen the police for months.
The next door neighbor to the Phillips farm, she told

(01:31):
me that she hadn't been interviewed, etc. So I think
it's because of the attitude. They didn't understand, or they
didn't promote it as been a criminal offense. The effort
wasn't quite as beast as they could do.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
Once he popped back into town and some of the
activity got going, and suddenly he was back in the
news again, and he was in the area, or clearly
was back in the area, or had been in the
area or whatever. How come they couldn't find him.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
Then it's a pretty it's so Firstly, it's a very
country area, so there are lots of little huts around.
There's a network that Tom's have. Remember he's been there
for years growing up through the area. He has some
friends that are on the wrong side of the fence,
in a criminal element, that they've been hiding them out.

(02:17):
And that's what it is. As people. People have had
their attitude that, oh Tom's looking after his family, he's
doing the right thing. The cops are a bunch of buggers,
let's not do anything for them. So he has been
hidden in a close network of friends around right around.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
So there's no question in your mind he's had a
lot of assistance.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
Absolutely, and there is there's anecdotal So I've been speaking
to people and whether family's helping him, whether whether it's
close friends or whether it's just acquaintances criminal element that
doesn't like the police. Absolutely, he has been assisted by
people to be off the network. He's have to be
provided with food. The kids are getting older, puberty starting

(03:01):
to kick him the gear and all those sort of things,
so he has to be being given some help.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
See that's how come the kids haven't sprung him in
some way, shape or form, whether it be deliberate or
a mistake or something. Three of them. That's to wrangle
three kids. Having been through it myself, is hard.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
Work, absolutely, and I think he's done a very good job.
Of brainwashing the kids in regards to what's right and wrong.
People have told me that the kids that can be
quite bush oriented. I've even had people told me the
words feral, So it could be a bit of a game.

(03:38):
We don't know whether or not. There could be other
kids that are helping. Certainly people who names have been
mentioned they have kids. So but yes, I agree with
you it would be a tough job, particularly now they're
getting older. The eldest is ten, She's going to be
wanting to notice things. She's going to start to think
for herself, so I think he's getting into dangerous areas

(03:59):
if this goes on.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
Make exactly does eighty grand make a difference to someone
going to spring them? Is this the answer to the
problem or not?

Speaker 2 (04:06):
And I sit on the fence on this one. To
be fair, I think that if one of his friends
or acquaintances can do a quick telephone call and get
eighty grand from the police and then ten grand from
the family, because I've offered some money as well, I
think they'll probably go for it. The risk here is
going to be that the police doing the comment that
they would look into or consider non prosecution. So I

(04:30):
think if the police went a little bit harder on
that that they guarantee non prosecution. I think that might
be off for people that are directly involved.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
Great insight, Chris, appreciate it very much.

Speaker 2 (04:38):
Chris Budge for more from news talks that'd be listen
live on air or online. And keep our shows with
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