As put by Inspector Will Loughrin:
Police inquiries have stepped up following a reported sighting of missing man Tom Phillips last night.
Tom and his three children Jayda, Maverick and Ember were reported missing from Marokopa by family on 18 January 2022.
Yesterday evening Police received reports of sightings of Tom in a brown/bronze 2003 Toyota Hilux flat-deck ute (pictured) on State Highway 31 in the Kawhia area.
The children were not with him.
Police have responded and made numerous area inquiries, however Tom was not located.
Officers will be following up in the area today, speaking with locals, and continue to appeal to anyone who may have information to come forward to Police.
In particular, Police are urgently seeking sightings of the ute.
Our priority is, and has always been, working to locate Tom and the children to ensure their welfare, and we have continued to follow up on information reported to us where relevant.
We are urging anyone who may have any information, no matter how small, to please come forward to Police. If it is happening now, call 111 and quote file number 211218/5611.
