The stolen ute being used by Tom Phillips, the father of the missing Marokopa kids, has been located by police.
Police were tipped off by a member of the public who saw the Toyota Hilux just off Marokopa Rd in Te Anga around 11am today.
Police then jumped into action, also deploying the Eagle helicopter, and found the ute.
However, police added: "At this time neither Tom nor the children have been located."
There have been fresh sightings of missing Marokopa kids' father Tom Phillips. (Source: 1News)
It comes after multiple sightings of Phillips and the ute were reported to police on Wednesday.
Phillips was seen driving a stolen brown/bronze 2003 Toyota Hilux flat-deck ute in the Pokuru area near Te Awamutu at 12.30pm yesterday afternoon.
Phillips, who disappeared with his three children 19 months ago, was spotted yesterday driving a Toyota Hilux ute in Waikato. (Source: 1News)
There was also a sighting of Phillips at the Bunnings Te Rapa car park in Hamilton at about 4pm by a person known to him.
At 6.45pm yesterday, the same ute was seen again in Kawhia and Phillips was believed to be behind the wheel. Inspector Will Loughrin Loughrin said there was an altercation between Phillips and another man.
He said the altercation was between Tom and a member of the community who recognised him, which led to the person calling police, which “allowed us to piece a number of things together”.
Today on Breakfast, Inspector Loughrin revealed there had been a fourth sighting on Wednesday at Bunnings South in Hamilton.
Police also released an image of who they believe to be Phillips shopping while disguised at Bunnings, around 3 or 4pm.
Jayda, 10, Maverick, 8, and Ember Phillips, 7, along with their father, have been missing since December 2021.
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