A 37-year-old woman and three teenagers have been charged after allegedly escaping an isolation hotel in Hamilton. A 12-year-old has not been charged.
All five have been caught, but one of them was on the run for 10 hours.
It all kicked off just before 7pm on Friday night when a police officer spotted someone going over a fence.
The family of five had been staying at the Distinction Hotel in Hamilton, here in New Zealand from Australia for the funeral of the children's father.
But before they could get an exemption, they allegedly fled.
"While we can understand their grief, we cannot allow one tragedy to turn into a tragedy for hundreds by allowing COVID-19 any opportunity to get back into our communities," Megan Woods, the minister in charges of managed isolation facilities, said.
The family flew in on Tuesday but a request to attend the funeral was rejected.
On Friday afternoon, their first COVID-19 tests came back negative.
At 6:15pm, they were told an exemption to view the body was "looking positive" with a decision at 8pm, but they didn't wait to find out.
This is what the police say happened: They forced open a window, scaled a six foot fence and headed for a nearby park where they spent most of their hour outside.
They were followed by Defence Force personnel to Minogue Park where all but one was apprehended within an hour.
But police say one of them went on the run and got a lift to Auckland. A 17-year-old, was detained at an address in Waitemata in the early hours of Saturday morning.
"I think it just shows that people are very irresponsible and don't think about the others, it's very selfish," one Hamilton local said.
"It's not good putting other people at risk, I don't know what they're thinking," said another.
"It's selfish to escape when everybody else has sacrificed so much for this," added a third.
"Everybody should be charged $5000 to come in the country and if they don't escape they get it back, if they do escape they don't get it," one person thought.
It's the second time there's been an alleged escape from the Distinction Hotel.
"These facilities are not prisons and nor should they be. This was a premeditated and planned attempt to break the law and leave this facility," Air Commodore Darryn Webb said.
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate says it's both disappointing and concerning.
"It's not quite the same as a prison, it's not made for security, but we want assurances that the security is at the highest level possible."
The four family members, aged 37, 16, 17 and 18, appeared in Hamilton Court on Saturday afternoon via video link.
The judge offered his condolences but said it didn't excuse the behaviour.
"I need to make it plain to you that the community I serve, the New Zealand public are sick and tired of people who are breaching the strict quarantine rules."
The four missed the funeral but have been able to watch a filmed version.
They've been bailed to a managed isolation facility in Auckland.
