A mother who has not seen her young children for more than two-and-a half years has shared a handwritten letter penned by their fugitive father who is believed to have abducted them.
The woman, who wants to be know simply as Catherine, is desperate to be reunited with Jayda, 11, Maverick, 9 and Ember, 8, who went missing along with their father Thomas Phillips from the small New Zealand town of Marokopa in December 2021.
Hours after she issued an emotional public appeal, Catherine has shared photos of the two page note from Phillips along with snaps of of the last birthday for Jayda when the family were together.
It’s not known when the letter was sent.
In the letter, which appears to been have crumpled up, Phillips begs for forgiveness and for Catherine to take him back.
Catherine has shared a note penned by her ex partner Thomas Philips as the wait to be reunited with her children continues
Catherine shared a photo of her and the three children celebrating a birthday for eldest daughter Jayden
‘I don’ know what to say or do to help you forgive me,’ the letter begins.
Phillips states he is not desperate ‘to be with someone or I would have done it’ but only wants Catherine back.
‘I want to be with you Catherine, the woman I been in love with for seven years,’ he wrote.
‘I can’t make you forgive me only you can make that choice.
He goes on to say he is ‘sorry for everything I have ever said or done to hurt you’.
‘These past nine months I have suffered everyday knowing I should have dealt with things better and know that I f***ed up.
Thomas Phillips (pictured) has been on the run for two and a half years and continues to evade authorities
‘You have a beautiful personality and the happiest years of my life are because of you
‘I don’t feel complete without you. I hope you can remember the man you fell in love with and know that I make multiple f*** ups I have a good heart and I mean well.’
Catherine posted on social media that she decided to share the letter to show that ‘all is not as it seems’.
The letter comes only two day after Catherine made a desperate video plea for help to be reunited with her children.
‘I am standing before you here today, begging for your help to bring my babies home,’ Cat pleaded in the video.
‘They are just innocent children, they do not deserve to be treated this way, they do not deserve the life that is being provided to them right now’.
The plea was made particularly poignant by being made on what would have been Jayda’s eleventh birthday.
‘She will be a young woman now and she needs her mother,’ a tearful Cat explained in the Facebook video distributed by New Zealand police.
Despite having numerous suspected sightings of Phillips with his children, police have not been able to track down the group
An $80,000 reward was also announced for information leading to the safe return of the children, who were reported missing by family members in January 2022.
Despite police following up numerous reported sightings of their father Luke Phillips sometimes with his children in the region around Marokopa, which is around three hours drive south of Auckland on the North Island’s west coast, the foursome remain elusive.
Cat accused Mr Phillips of endangering and depriving the children.
‘Ember is asthmatic as am I and she needs medical care that cannot be provided from the land,’ Cat claimed.
‘Many of you say that the children are fine and they are being well looked after.
‘How do you know? Have you seen them? Or is it just bush talk?
‘What Thomas is doing is not OK. It is not OK to divide and conquer, to isolate and control.
One of the many reported suspected sightings of Mr Phillips, this one from a Bunnings Warehouse store in Te Rapa, Hamilton last August
‘It is child neglect, it is child abandonment, it is child abuse. My babies deserve better.’
Police told Stuff that they have had more than 100 new reports of information on Mr Phillips
Almost half of those reports are considered by police worthy of greater examination.
While the area around Marokopa continues to be the focus, police search inquiries are also being made the surrounding areas of Honikiwi and Otorohanga.
Police urged anyone who has observed recent suspicious behaviour in these areas to come forward.
In January, police said they believed they had narrowed their search to an area where they had credible reason to think Mr Phillips was living with his children.
‘We believe Tom and the children are hiding out in Western Waikato within Marokopa or the surrounding areas,’ Acting Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders said.
Catherine has made a desperate plea for the return of her children who have been missing for two and a half years
‘Although the environment is challenging for investigators, we continue to devote resources to this operation and follow up on all reported sightings.’
However, Mr Phillips continues to avoid police.
Mr Phillips, a capable hunter with intimate knowledge of the bush, was last spotted in grainy CCTV in November last year attempting to allegedly rob a store in Piopio in the Waitomo District with another individual.
Dressed in army-style combat clothing with caps pulled low and masks covering their faces, the two figures can be seen leaving a red quadbike before they approach the window of the store.
Mr Phillips then allegedly smashed the shopfront before fleeing when the alarm sounded.
‘We continue to review existing evidence and new information and appeal to the community to pass on any details that could help the three children be reunited with their family,’ a police spokesperson said at the time.
