For four long years, New Zealand believed Tom Phillips was the only guardian of his three missing children, leading them through an extraordinary survival story in the remote bush. But now, his sister has shattered that narrative with explosive claims — that Tom was never alone.
Speaking for the first time since her brother’s death, she insists a shadowy figure lived alongside the fugitive father, guiding the children, supplying food, and even putting weapons in Tom’s hands. “He couldn’t have done it all himself,” she said through tears. “There was someone else — someone who wanted them hidden.”
Her shocking words have sent ripples through the nation, igniting fears that a wider network was protecting Tom’s off-grid existence. The family’s ordeal, once thought to be the tale of a desperate dad, now hints at a chilling conspiracy that could stretch far beyond Waikato’s wilderness.
And in a twist that will haunt investigators, the sister claims the children themselves may have whispered clues about “another man” long before their rescue — but nobody listened.