Woman told police she had Tom Phillips in her car in May 2023 - but officers were diverted

A credible sighting of Tom Phillips in May 2023 was not investigated properly by police as they were diverted to another incident, and police inaction led to avoidable delays, a report has found.A woman was approached by who she thought was Phillips on 28 May 2023 for help jump starting his car near Te Anga Road. She drove him there, took a photo of him, and sighted his children.A damning inquiry has found authorities could have prevented Phillips from disappearing with his children - or brought them home sooner.The report released on Tuesday afternoon said agencies missed crucial chances to protect the children and repeatedly downplayed the harm they faced.The woman called the police after the sighting and described him as Caucasian, in his late 30s to early 40s. She said he was wearing a black hat, black/grey shirt, black jeans, and work boots.A Tom Phillips sighting.NZ PoliceShe said that he smelled strongly and like someone who had not had a shower in a very long time.She also expressed her concern about the man and the children because they seemed to be stuck in the middle of nowhere on a forestry road. Her and her mother-in-law suspected it was Phillips.Following the report, police dispatched a unit about half an hour after receiving the call, but that unit was diverted to a family harm incident shortly after at a different address on Te Anga Road. The report noted family harm incidents were usually given priority.Not long after that, the unit advised no further action was required from police.There was a brief follow up after this, by an "astute senior constable" but what followed was a "series of unfortunate mis-steps and circumstances" that together "conspired to compound the delay in police properly appreciating and investigating the significance" of the sighting.There is no evidence that the first unit tasked with the report visited the woman's home or attempted to visit the location of the sighting. Police have not been able to explain to the inquiry why it was designated as no further action required, without any follow up.Regarding the 28 May 2023 sighting, the inquiry found police inaction on the day led to avoidable delays.It said police should have recognised the sighting was credible, and investigated "more thoroughly and in a more timely way," and had there been no delay, "there might have been a real prospect of locating the children".