A Marokopa resident who lives within kilometres of the dense bush where formerly missing man Thomas Phillips set up camp with his three young children says police never even knocked on his door.
Phillips and children 8-year-old Jayda Jin, 6-year-old Maverick Callum-Phillips and 5-year-old Ember Phillips, were last seen on September 11 before returning to their home on Thursday, sparking extensive searches.
Police said they had been living in a tent in a dense bush area about 15 kilometres south of Kiritehere Beach, among rugged terrain.
Now a farmer, who wished to remain anonymous, told Newshub he was surprised police never visited him despite living within several kilometres of where Phillips was spotted on a motorbike Wednesday with his children.
The local said with only a handful of homes off the long, remote road he would've expected police to ask for local knowledge.
A police spokesperson did not explain why the farmer was not approached.
"Extensive ground, coastline and air searches were undertaken across the Marokopa and Kiritehere areas over the 17-day period based on the best information available at the time," they said.
On Thursday, Phillips issued an apology to his sister Rozzi Pethybridge for putting the family through a 17-day ordeal.
Pethybridge spent 16 days at her parents' house in Marokopa looking for Phillips and his kids among the army of searchers. She spoke briefly to Phillips on the phone after he was found before she returned back to Marokopa to see them.
"There were quite a few tears," she said. "[He said] 'Sorry for worrying you. I love you.' Both ways - just love you and so happy you've come back.
