MISSING DOWN UNDER: THE TOM PHILLIPS STORY
Episode description
Tom Phillips and his three young children disappeared from the isolated rural Waikato town of Marokopa on 9 December 2021. New Zealand Police believe that the children were taken by their father to a location somewhere in the western Waikato, after a dispute with their mother. Phillips is alleged to have committed a bank robbery in September 2023, but the first sighting of all three children with their father was on 3 October 2024, when they were spotted walking through Marokopa farmland. However, despite a three-day search of the area, including the use of a military helicopter, they have not yet been located.
Background
Marokopa seen from above
Before their disappearance, Tom Phillips lived in Ōtorohanga in New Zealand's Waikato district with his three children.[ They also spent much of their time at the family farm in Marokopa. Phillips had been separated from his wife Catherine for several years and was homeschooling the children.[citation needed] He is an experienced hunter and camper. The Phillips family has farmed in the area for generations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillips_family_disappearances
https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/11/world/new-zealand-tom-phillips-missing-children-intl-hnk-dst
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9DnIfQ_EuM
(use this one for finding–middle of the story)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0lvbGxGfuY
(supportive of the father)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pVjMwhYr7M
(too long)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O0xExooPio
(use for starting of story)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH4E9dM69PI
(good mom info)
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/10/08/timeline-disappearance-of-tom-phillips-and-marokopa-children/