Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Chris Budge: Private Investigator on the $80 thousand reward in the Phillips children missing person case

Transcript

Chris Budge: Private Investigator on the $80 thousand reward in the Phillips children missing person case · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: New twist in the matter Coopa Tom Phillips case. So
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: police have put up this eighty thousand dollars reward for
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: information Jada, Maverick and m but we were taken by
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: their dad December twenty twenty one. Reward also includes the
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: possibility of immunity for anyone who may have been assisting Phillips. Now,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: private investigator Chris Budge is on listen. He's well this Chris,
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  Speaker 1: very good morning to you.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Morning Mike.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: How unusual is all of this?
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: Well, what's unusual with this is to remember that back
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  Speaker 2: in December twenty one, when the family first informed the
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  Speaker 2: police that Tom and the kids have gone missing, their
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: attitude was this was a family matter before the courts
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: around custody, so to be here. They weren't really interested
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  Speaker 2: in the early days to do much around this. It
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: wasn't until the arm robbery that the police really ticked
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: them to gear and there was a leadership change within
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: the police and their tactics sort of changed. Eighty thousand dollars, Yes,
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  Speaker 2: it's a reasonabyund money, but if you then compare it
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: against putting helicopters down the air and doing searching with manpower, etc.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: It's actually an economical way to move forward. Did the
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: police drop Jesus early on? Yes, I'm to be fair,
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: I've been a fairly hard critic of the police in
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: the early days. Whilst they they went down occasionally the
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: local drums network down there would see the police as
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: soon as they came in. They weren't that visual. People
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: were telling me that they hadn't seen the police for months.
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  Speaker 2: The next door neighbor to the Phillips farm, she told
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  Speaker 2: me that she hadn't been interviewed, etc. So I think
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  Speaker 2: it's because of the attitude. They didn't understand, or they
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: didn't promote it as been a criminal offense. The effort
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  Speaker 2: wasn't quite as beast as they could do.
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  Speaker 1: Once he popped back into town and some of the
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: activity got going, and suddenly he was back in the
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  Speaker 1: news again, and he was in the area, or clearly
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: was back in the area, or had been in the
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: area or whatever. How come they couldn't find him.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: Then it's a pretty it's so Firstly, it's a very
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: country area, so there are lots of little huts around.
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: There's a network that Tom's have. Remember he's been there
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: for years growing up through the area. He has some
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  Speaker 2: friends that are on the wrong side of the fence,
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  Speaker 2: in a criminal element, that they've been hiding them out.
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  Speaker 2: And that's what it is. As people. People have had
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  Speaker 2: their attitude that, oh Tom's looking after his family, he's
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  Speaker 2: doing the right thing. The cops are a bunch of buggers,
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: let's not do anything for them. So he has been
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: hidden in a close network of friends around right around.
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  Speaker 1: So there's no question in your mind he's had a
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: lot of assistance.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and there is there's anecdotal So I've been speaking
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: to people and whether family's helping him, whether whether it's
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: close friends or whether it's just acquaintances criminal element that
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: doesn't like the police. Absolutely, he has been assisted by
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: people to be off the network. He's have to be
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: provided with food. The kids are getting older, puberty starting
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: to kick him the gear and all those sort of things,
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: so he has to be being given some help.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: See that's how come the kids haven't sprung him in
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  Speaker 1: some way, shape or form, whether it be deliberate or
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: a mistake or something. Three of them. That's to wrangle
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: three kids. Having been through it myself, is hard.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Work, absolutely, and I think he's done a very good job.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: Of brainwashing the kids in regards to what's right and wrong.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: People have told me that the kids that can be
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: quite bush oriented. I've even had people told me the
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: words feral, So it could be a bit of a game.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: We don't know whether or not. There could be other
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: kids that are helping. Certainly people who names have been
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: mentioned they have kids. So but yes, I agree with
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: you it would be a tough job, particularly now they're
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: getting older. The eldest is ten, She's going to be
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: wanting to notice things. She's going to start to think
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: for herself, so I think he's getting into dangerous areas
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: if this goes on.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: Make exactly does eighty grand make a difference to someone
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  Speaker 1: going to spring them? Is this the answer to the
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  Speaker 1: problem or not?
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  Speaker 2: And I sit on the fence on this one. To
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  Speaker 2: be fair, I think that if one of his friends
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  Speaker 2: or acquaintances can do a quick telephone call and get
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: eighty grand from the police and then ten grand from
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: the family, because I've offered some money as well, I
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: think they'll probably go for it. The risk here is
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  Speaker 2: going to be that the police doing the comment that
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: they would look into or consider non prosecution. So I
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  Speaker 2: think if the police went a little bit harder on
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  Speaker 2: that that they guarantee non prosecution. I think that might
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: be off for people that are directly involved.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Great insight, Chris, appreciate it very much.
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  Speaker 2: Chris Budge for more from news talks that'd be listen
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: live on air or online. And keep our shows with
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: you wherever you go with our podcasts on Iartradio.