Self-Represented Perpetrator Vanishes | Anchorage News

A jury in Palmer, Alaska, convicted Phillip Phillips, 58, of multiple serious sex crimes against a minor that occurred in 2020 — including first-degree and second-degree sexual abuse and harassment — after he vanished mid-trial. Phillips bizarrely fired his lawyer on the first day and skipped court entirely, sparking a manhunt. Authorities found he’d sold his home and truck, bought a satellite phone for international calls, and fled by boat to Whittier — his monitoring device went dark early Tuesday. The court ruled his disappearance amounted to voluntary flight, allowing the trial to proceed without him. Still at large, Phillips faces 25 to 35 years in prison if captured. The case was powered by the victim’s courage and the relentless work of prosecutors and Alaska’s Crimes Against Children Unit.

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