What missing girl said to hunter after being spotted in wilderness three years after vanishing

The chilling statement given by a missing girl to a group of local hunters has been revealed.

Tom Phillips vanished from his family home along with his three children, Jayda, 11, Maverick, nine, and Ember, eight, in 2021.

They were presumed to be living off the land and managing to stay one step ahead of law enforcement.

The group of four were spotted by local hunters in New Zealand bushland, as well as caught on camera on 2 October.

They were dressed in camouflage gear, carrying rucksacks, when the sighting of them on a farm nearby the famous Waitomo Caves occurred.

The statement given to the hunters by Jayda has sparked a tragic theory by their bereft mother, Cat.

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

The hunters called out to the family from around 60 metres away, and Jayda reportedly responded.

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

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

The hunters then shared the footage with their grandfather, who informed them they'd stumbled across a missing family.

Following the recollection of events, Cat has theorised it could be Jayda's 'cry for help'.

Tom Phillips was caught on camera by hunters (1News)

She 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."

The family were initially reported missing in September 2021 after a dispute at Cat's family home led to their disappearance.

Their father does not have legal custody of the children.

Police launched a rescue mission after the father's Toyota HiLux was discovered after being abandoned on Kiritehere Beach.

All four returned 18 days later and said they had been living in a tent in dense bushland.

They disappeared again later that year in December, and still remain missing despite being seen by hunters, and several CCTV sightings including at a Bunnings store in August last year.

Cat told the New Zealand Herald: "I’m so happy that they’re all there. I’m so relieved to see all three of my babies. They’re all alive.”

Cat has expressed her unhappiness with the response of law enforcement, who she claims only contacted her the day after the footage was initially 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."