Police have released the first images of what they believe is one of many campsites where a New Zealand father on the run hid with his three children for years.
Two of Tom Phillips' children were found at the site in the Waikato region on Monday, hours after he was killed in a shootout with the police.
Police found them with the help of the third child, who was with Phillips when he died. They said the children are "doing well", but will take time to recover from the ordeal.
Shortly before Christmas in 2021, Phillips disappeared with his children – Jayda, Maverick, and Ember, then aged eight, seven and five respectively. Police believe he did so after losing legal custody of them.
Phillips had "no regard" for the children's safety and "quite literally put [them] in harm's way", Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told the media on Tuesday, adding that they are now in the care of authorities.
