Police are continuing the search and examination of what is believed to be the main campsite of Tom Phillips and his children in recent months.

Police have arrested a 44-year-old man in relation to the theft of a significant bronze sculpture from the Mt Pleasant Community Centre.

The man will appear in Christchurch District Court on 16 September on a charge of theft.

“The theft of the sculpture has deeply upset the community, and Police have worked hard to locate the artwork and identify the person responsible” says Acting Detective Sergeant Steph Trengrove.

To be attributed to Inspector Paul Reeves, Response Manager:

A woman has been taken into police custody following a house fire in Epsom Road, Sockburn this afternoon.

Emergency services were called to the address at 3.10pm today.

The woman was the sole occupant of the house and refused to leave when emergency services arrived.

While there was no risk to the wider community, cordons were put in place around the house to enable emergency services to work safely at the scene.

Police are today releasing photos of one of the campsites where Tom Phillips and his children were hiding prior to Monday morning’s shooting at Waitomo.

The makeshift camp was located by specialist Police, acting on information from one of the children, about 2 kilometres from the scene where Phillips died after he shot and critically injured a Police officer.

A large-scale investigation is continuing into the shooting, which happened about 3.25am on Monday on Te Anga Road.

Media are asked to remove the additional charges listed in our original media release on the youth charged with the murder of Kaea Karauria, as ordered by the Judge in Napier Youth Court today.

This is due to the charges being a separate matter to the murder charge, and these charges will go through separate Court proceedings.

We ask media to please update any stories to reflect this.

Thank you for your understanding.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

To be attributed to Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers: 

Late this afternoon, specialist Police officers conducting a search within bush near Waitomo located the outstanding children of Tom Phillips.

I’m pleased to say they are unharmed, and are now safe.

They were located about 4.30pm, in bush, roughly 2km from the location where Tom Phillips died after shooting at Police.

This is an emotional development. To know the children are safe, and now receiving care after nearly four years, is an absolute relief.

Media are advised that Police will hold a third stand-up at 5.50pm today regarding this morning’s critical incident.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers will speak to media in Waitomo.

We ask those media interested in attending to RSVP to [email protected].

Further details will be provided to registered media.

ENDS

ISsued by Police Media Centre

Please attribute to Senior Sergeant John Stapleford, Rotorua Road Policing Coordinator:

Rotorua Police’s ongoing operation targeting illegal motorbike anti-social road users has resulted in bike seizures, as well as landing a person before the courts.

On Friday 5 September, a dirt bike was seized from a property in Tauranga, after being involved in a dangerous driving incident, and failing to stop for Police.

A Northland man has been remanded in custody after a dangerous dash across the Far North at excessive speeds.

Police received several calls from road users who reported a white BMW driving dangerously on SH10 towards Taipa, on Friday afternoon.

“Callers estimated the BMW was travelling at excessive speeds and driving dangeorously, allegedly overtaking on double yellow lines heading south,”  Sergeant Treston Laybourn says.

The vehicle and driver were later located by Mangōnui Police near Cable Bay.