Authorities have shared new details after searching what is believed to be Tom Phillips’ final hideout, bringing a deeply emotional twist to the years-long story.
Police confirmed they located a weathered backpack hidden beneath a makeshift shelter at the remote campsite. When officers carefully unzipped it, they found something that immediately silenced the entire search team — a collection of small children’s clothes, neatly folded, along with a pair of worn shoes and a few hand-drawn pictures believed to have been made by the children during their time in hiding.
“There was something so heartbreaking about how carefully everything had been kept,” one officer reportedly said. “It was clear someone wanted to preserve a sense of normal life, even in the middle of nowhere.”
Next to the clothes, police also discovered a small toy — a stuffed animal that appeared well-loved but tattered from years outdoors — and a notebook filled with scribbles, likely from the children.
The discovery has touched many across New Zealand, with neighbors and community members expressing sadness for what the children endured during their years in isolation. Social media has been flooded with emotional comments, many calling the find “a window into their hidden world.”
For investigators, the backpack serves as a powerful reminder of the human story at the heart of this case — not just about a man on the run, but about three young lives shaped by those years away from home.