Police say fugitive dad Tom Phillips was unlikely to surrender easily and was prepared to put his three children in harm’s way, police said. 

They have this morning released further details about the Marokopa manhunt. 

“Intelligence played an important role in informing decisions and planning for possible outcomes,” said Detective Superintendent Ross McKay. 

“We knew Phillips had firearms and was motivated to use them. 

“We also knew, based on previous actions and behavioural science analysis, that Phillips was unlikely to surrender easily and was prepared to put the children in harm’s way. 

“The primary objective was locating and returning the children safely. 

Tom Phillips (inset) was on the run with his three children fo four years. Police recover a quad bike and motorbike he had used. 

“Police focused on two key things to achieve that – finding a campsite or a supply route.“ 

The family regularly moved around and adapted their behaviour, meaning no sites were found. 

“They were detected in transit on occasion but never in circumstances that allowed police to safely intervene.” 

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McKay said drones, supplied and operated by Airbus, flew for 111 hours over a period of two weeks in April this year. 

“Police never stopped trying – thousands of hours were dedicated to the search,” McKay said. 

He said the focus of the investigation, which was never fully released to the public, was to find a campsite or a supply route. 

He said it was always expected that there would be multiple campsites. 

Phillips was killed in an early-morning shootout with police earlier this month. 

His eldest child was with him, and his other two children were found later that day at a campsite in western Waikato.