Hunted Australia "chief hunter" Dr David Craig. Photo: Supplied
The "chief hunter" on hit TV show Hunted Australia has joined the chorus of criticism over the police's slow response to a new sighting of fugitive father Tom Phillips and his three children near Marokopa.
Until Thursday, Phillips and his three children Jayda, now 11, Maverick, nine, and Ember, eight, had not been seen together since 12 December 2021.
But a video captured by pig hunters north of Awamarino in Waikato on 3 October showed a man followed by three children in wet-weather gear carrying large camouflaged backpacks and wearing masks. The group could be seen 20 to 30 metres away from the hunters, trekking through rough, overgrown terrain before disappearing behind a hill.
It apparently took police several hours to respond to what they called a "credible sighting".
A still from a video taken by pig hunters on 3 October, purported to be fugitive father Tom Phillips and his three missing children. Photo: Supplied / John McOviney
David Craig - a former detective superintendent in the Australian police, federal agent and "chief hunter" on hit reality TV show Hunted Australia - where people try to evade capture to win a share of $1 million - told Checkpoint police should have deployed technology and search dogs immediately after the latest sighting.
"One of the first things that needed to happen - and maybe they did this - was get a scent dog on track straight away, because that's a remote bush location. Humans smell very differently to animals and to the bush, and a scent dog would be able to track them down quite rapidly out there."
Police have said they started patrols on the evening of 3 October, but a full search was not commenced until Friday. They searched for three days with air support, but found nothing of significance.
Craig said given the sighting happened in the evening, police "surely" should have used a thermal imagining drone to locate the group.
"That's going to pick up a heat signature of four bodies in that bush location very quickly.
"Given the quality of the camo gear they're wearing, it would be very hard to spot them with the naked eye. People who are wanting to hide and lie low - and those kids aren't trying to escape - they'll be very hard to see."
If he were leading the hunt for the missing family, he would also be tracking low-volume streams and creek beds, checking for disturbances of moss and mud to ascertain the group's direction of travel.
Checkpoint host Lisa Owen asked if it was concerning the male was carrying a gun in his hand.
"That's very concerning, obviously, from a welfare perspective for the children and for anyone who may come across them - certainly I'd be urging people to contact the authorities rather than approach them directly."
The group were carrying heavy backpacks, and while they had access to water, the need to locate food would slow them down, Craig said.
"Farmers know their land really well, they know the routine of their dogs and animals, and anything that stood out at that particular time - whether there are less eggs than normal, or chicken's gone missing, or even has the house been entered and stuff stolen from fridge, because that's quite a quick thing to do."
Owen asked why the children were wearing masks?
"Obviously, it would mean to me... that clearly the kids don't want to get found either. It's in their interests that they're going to be part of this hiding. I don't blame the children for that, they're just doing what they've been schooled to do."
The use of masks were very unusual, and would only highlight the fact they might be the fugitives, he said.
"If they were wearing masks in a city environment ... they could blend in... but in a bush setting - one male, three children - it wouldn't matter what they were wearing - you're going to identify them as suspects.
"I'm sure that [Phillips] has got some coercive control over their moments ... he was leading the way and he was clearly on a mission."
Craig questioned whether the sighting had prompted Phillips to alter his route or destination.
A Google maps screenshot showing the location of a sighting of fugitive Marokopa father Tom Phillips and his children Jayda, Maverick and Ember in October 2024. Photo: Google Maps
The video footage was a "huge breakthrough, and that should accelerate the finding of these people very quickly, I think", he said.
"It tells you so much: First of all, obviously, the welfare of the children. You don't know what sort of mental health shape they're in or whether they're under coercive control. But they're clearly not trying to run from the father."
The video also contained landmarks, such as fence posts, that could show how fast the group was walking, which would help police create and extend the search radius, he said.
"I don't think they're going to be able to walk much faster than what they are - [they're] quite heavily laden."
It was not surprising they had remained in broadly the same area where they disappeared three years ago, he said.
"People on the run feel a lot more comfortable ... if they're in an area they feel very familiar with. They're probably know the movements of neighbours that they can exploit, resources that might be in people's houses when they're out."
Craig said - as has been speculated before - that it was highly likely the group was being supported by "sympathetic locals".
"I find it very hard to believe - and I'm sure it will be revealed - that some people have been assisting Phillips in hiding these children."
It was "very hard" to hide or disguise heat footprints in a bush setting, he said.
"A heat signature is a heat signature. And drones are not even that expensive. They would give you some hint of it."
