Hunters reveal conversation children who vanished three years ago had with them after being spotted in wilderness with dad

The teenagers that bumped into a family who have been missing for three years on a remote farm in New Zealand have revealed the contents of their conversation.

The pair, who wish to remain anonymous, have spoken out about their encounter with Tom Phillips and his three children - Jayda, 11, Maverick, nine, and Ember, eight - near Marokopa on the nation's North Island on 3 October.

The sighting has given the children's mother, Cat, fresh hope that she will be reunited with them after the trio disappeared with their dad on 9 December, 2021.

It wasn't the first time that they had gone AWOL, as a huge search was launched for Phillips and the three youngsters after they vanished for 19 days in September of that year.

He eventually returned, and told relatives that he had taken his brood on a camping trip in dense bushland, before authorities charged him with wasting police time and resources.

Tom Phillips vanished with his three children on 9 December, 2021 (NZ Police)

Phillips was given a court date to attend on 12 January, but by that time, he had already gone missing again with the kids - and due to his failure to appear, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Reports claim the father-of-three returned home on 9 February for a short period, informing his family they were all okay.

However, he would not reveal their location, and he then vanished once again.

There have been numerous sightings of the family over the years, including in August 2023, when Phillips was spotted shopping in the New Zealand city of Hamilton while using a mask to cover his face after stealing a Toyota Hilux.

Police also suspect he was involved in an armed bank robbery in Te Kuiti, which he'd been accused of carrying out with an unknown accomplice, believed to be one of his children.

Just over a week ago, police announced there was a 'credible sighting' of Phillips, Jayda, Maverick and Ember.

The dad and the three youngsters were spotted on a remote farm in New Zealand over a week ago (YouTube/1News)

Two 16-year-old boys were pig hunting on their grandfather's farm in Waikato when they noticed the foursome - who they say were all dressed in camouflage and wearing large backpacks - navigating their way through the shrubbery.

Assuming they could be poachers, the lads approached the group and ended up having a short chat.

One of them told news outlet Stuff that he informed the Phillips family that they were on 'private property', before the eldest child, Jayda, responded.

The teen said: "She was like, 'Yeah...duh'. Then I asked, 'Does anyone know you’re on here?'

"And she said, 'No, just you guys'."

After the extremely brief exchange, the family continued to make their way in the direction of Marokopa, and the boys said they did not appear to be in any distress.

The hunters claim that Phillips was holding a gun, and although he turned around, he did not speak to them.

Police have been hunting for the elusive father-of-three (NZ Police)

The dad is said to have been sporting a large beard with a grey tip, and was walking about 10m ahead of his two daughters and son, who were following behind in single file.

The quick-thinking teens recorded footage of the family walking away, which has proved pivotal in giving police something to go off.

One of the lads got in touch with his grandfather, John McOviney, who believed it was 'definitely' Phillips and his kids after viewing the video and alerted authorities.

He said that police had erected checkpoints on roads in the area and attempted to 'track them with dogs', but he also expressed frustration that red tape surrounding the investigation made the process a lot slower.

McOviney explained that he reckons Phillips and his children might have been staying 'in the bush somewhere', as although there are a few houses dotted around the area, they are either 'occupied' or unaccessible.

"There is another four or five thousand hectares out there in bush, that borders on to us, they could disappear into there for a month and you’d never know," he said.

The farmer believes that Phillips must be a 'smart bushman' who knew how to survive in the wilderness, but didn't understand how he had been able to elude authorities for such a long time.

"We can put people on the moon, you’d think we’d be able to find four people," McOviney added.

The police investigation into the whereabouts of Phillips and his three children remains ongoing.

Detective Inspector Andrew Saunders said: "While we cannot go into detail, we want to reassure the public that we have the resources in place to respond to any information or reports of sightings that come in.

"Our focus is very much on the safe return of Jayda, Maverick and Ember to their whānau [family] and we are doing all that we can to make that happen."

DI Saunders urged anyone who is possibly assisting the family to 'please stop' and 'do the right thing' by getting in touch with authorities, while offering legal immunity to anyone who wanted to come forward.