Tearful mum shares tragic theory as missing children are spotted in wilderness three years after vanishing

The mother of three children who went missing alongside their father in 2021 has spoken out after they were seen in the wilderness.

Tom Phillips and his three children, Jayda, 11, Maverick, 9, and Ember, 8 were spotted and captured on camera by local hunters in the New Zealand bushland.

The four had disappeared into thin air from their home following a dispute.

It was believed they had been living off the land and staying one step ahead of law enforcement over the last few years.

Cat has now spoken out with a tragic theory that her daughter Jayda had made a cry for help.

The family was spotted by 16-year-old hunters who believed that they were poachers.

The hunters called out to them from around 60 metres away, and Jayda was the one to reply.

One of the poachers recalled: "I said, 'This is private property', and she was like, 'Yeah... duh'."

The children's mother, Cat, has spoken out about the footage (YouTube/RNZ)

"Then I asked, 'Does anyone know you're on here?' and she said, 'No, just you guys'."

Cat has now put forward the theory that her daughter was making an attempt to let the public know about her circumstances.

Cat told Mata Reports: "Is that a cry for help? Is that 'Does anybody know that we're here? Is anyone coming for us?'

"We don't get to hear the tone of her voice but to me, that's what I think.

"It's like she's trying to say something without actually saying something because her father is right there, and she's worried if she says the wrong thing and words it the wrong way, she's worried about later repercussions."

In chilling details, all four family members were clad in camouflage clothes and carrying weighty rucksacks.

The father, Tom, is reported to have been walking around 10metres in front of his children, who followed in single file.

Their mother believes her daughter may have been trying to communicate with the public (1News)

Shockingly, this isn't their first disappearance.

The four first went missing on 11 September 2021, before returning 18 days later and stating they'd been 'living in a tent in dense bushland.'

Cat said that following that stint, the trio had lost a lot of weight.

Reflecting on their three-year disappearance, she said: "I can't imagine what they've endured in these three years, it's just wrong on so many levels."

Cat is unhappy with the response from law enforcement, who she says only contacted her the day after the footage was reported.

She said: "The system has failed my children miserably from the get-go.

'They shouldn't have to live like this, they deserve so much more. They deserve to have friends, they deserve to go to the park and eat McDonald's."