(clockwise from top left) Tom Phillips, Jayda Phillips, Ember Phillips and Maverick Callam-Phillips. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police
A reported sighting of fugitive father on-the-run Tom Phillips and his children was not the group, police say.
Four people were seen dressed in camouflage on State Highway 4 about 8.30pm on Sunday, about 100m south of the Tikitiki Road intersection with Mapara North Road, Waikato.
The sighting was reported to police who confirmed on Wednesday evening someone from the group had come forward and confirmed they were not Tom Phillips or his three children.
Police said they had received a number of calls from the public regarding the sighting and had since confirmed the sighting was not Phillips or his children.
"Police would like to thank members of the public who contacted us following the appeal, and the initial caller who reported the sighting.
"We rely on information from the public to assist in our search and active investigation, and we ask anyone who sees Maverick, Ember, Jayda, or Tom to please contact police."
A search has been on for Phillips and his three children Jayda, 11, Maverick, nine, and Ember, eight, since December 2021.
Their location is unknown, but police believed they were hiding out in Western Waikato within Marokopa, or the surrounding areas.
In October, a video captured by teenage hunters north of Awamarino showed a man followed by three children in wet-weather gear carrying camouflaged backpacks.
In the footage - which police described as a "credible sighting" of Phillips and the children - the group could be seen trekking through rough, overgrown terrain before disappearing behind a hill.
Police launched a three-day hunt using helicopters and officers on the ground, but were criticised for their slow response, with some questioning why they did not use drones, search dogs and heat-seeking devices.
The children's mother - who was estranged from Phillips - had also spoken out on the police response, pleading with the public to provide information and telling Mata Reports' Mihingarangi Forbes she had been abused by online trolls.
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