Tom Phillip’s 10-year-old son was found "holding a rifle" and had to be negotiated with by police when he and his sibling were discovered in a remote bushland bunker this week.

According to the New Zealand Herald, specialist officers found Maverick Phillips, 10, armed with a rifle as they approached the hideout.

Negotiators who were “very highly trained and skilled” managed to deescalate the tense moment.

“There was a negotiation which commenced with the children, and that proceeded, and they came out,” Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders said.

Phillips’ eldest daughter Jayda, 12, was instrumental in helping officers find the campsite where Maverick and Ember, nine, were hiding.

NZ Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said police were told there were firearms at the campsite “a

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