Missing London teenager Nora Quoirin may be hiding behind trees or rocks in the Malaysian jungle, rescuers believe on the sixth day of the search operation after she vanished from a luxury resort.
Search teams are combing hilly, boulder-filled areas where Nora, who has learning difficulties, could still be alive and sheltering, Ahmad Mukhlis Mokhtar of Malaysia’s fire and rescue department told local media.
It comes amid a dispute between fire and police officials over whether footprints in the jungle belong to her.
Mukhlis earlier said that that ‘our detective canines had spotted footprints’ which he believed to belong to Nora because the sniffer dogs were following her scent.
However police denied the footprint finding at a press conference later on Friday, leaving the search in confusion amid fears it will be hampered by bad weather.
Questions were also raised about whether Nora wandered away from the resort via a huge gap in the fence.
The 15-year-old’s disappearance from her eco-resort cottage on Sunday remains unexplained despite a huge operation involving hundreds of people equipped with drones, helicopters and thermal imaging cameras.
Her family also released a new statement in which they provided further details of her learning difficulties, saying she ‘has a good memory but she cannot understand anything conceptual’ and ‘struggles with coordination’, but had never wandered off before.
Rescuers are today searching hilly, boulder-filled parts of the Malaysian jungle (pictured) close to the eco-resort cottage where missing teenager Nora Quoirin vanished on Sunday
Malaysian fire and rescue department officers stand on rocks and boulders in a pool of water today as they search for missing teenager Nora Quoirin for a sixth day
Rescuers point towards a pool of water in the jungle on Friday amid fears that bad weather will disrupt the search today
One of the Malaysian trackers climbs over stones in running water as he combs the jungle for any sign of Nora Quoirin
Nora Quoirin, 15, (pictured left) went missing from her bedroom on Sunday morning while on a family holiday at a nature resort in Seremban, Malaysia. Pictured on the right is a map of the resort from where she disappeared
Nora Quoirin is pictured (right) with her mother Maebh whose voice has been recorded and broadcast into the jungle on loudspeakers in an effort to find the missing teenager
A fence 50 yards from the front door of the family’s apartment that leads to a road out of the resort. Guests can easily walk around it, widening the area in which Nora could be
A window (seen at the back) in the resort cottage’s living room was left open, police have said as they investigate how Nora disappeared from the accommodation where she was staying with her family
Nora Quoirin ‘could only have left her cottage through an open window’
Nora Quoirin could only have left the resort cottage through an open window on the ground floor, Malaysian police believe.
Authorities yesterday released pictures of the cottage’s living room and the open window where unknown fingerprints were discovered.
The window is fairly narrow but police believe Nora could have squeezed through.
The open ground-floor window that Nora may have left through
‘Only the glass window exit was used. We are certain about this, a police officer told Malaysian media, citing the work of a forensic police team.
Police are now investigating whether the fingerprints could belong to an outsider as Nora’s family fears that she was abducted from the cottage.
Whether the window could have been opened from the outside remains unclear.
Another window in the bedroom upstairs, where the girl was sleeping with her two siblings, was kept shut.
Nora was born with Holoprosencephaly, meaning that she has a smaller brain, a family spokesman explained.
Calling her a ‘very special person’ and ‘fun, funny, and extremely loving’, the family said Nora ‘is very affectionate – family is her whole world and she loves to play games, like Cat Bingo, with us.
‘She likes to tell us silly jokes and wear clever, colourful t-shirts. She is not like other teenagers. She is not independent and does not go anywhere alone.
‘Nora and her family are bi-lingual and bi-cultural. Nora is very proud that she can speak French as well as English. But her verbal communication is limited.
‘Nora can read like a young child, but she cannot write more than a few words.
‘She has a good memory but she cannot understand anything conceptual.
‘Nora likes to walk with her family, but her balance is limited and she struggles with coordination. She has been to Asia, and many European countries before, and has never wandered off or got lost. Nora is very sensitive.
‘Outside the family, Nora is very shy and can be quite anxious. Every night, her special time is for cuddles and a night-time story with her Mum. And she was extremely excited about the family holiday in Malaysia.’
Today heartbreaking new footage revealed the moment police broadcast her mother’s voice into the forest in the hope of coaxing her out from a possible hiding place.
‘Nora darling, Nora I love you, Mum is here’, Meabh Quoirin’s voice called out in a loudspeaker message.
Nora’s photograph has been handed out at roadblocks in the area, phone and email records are being checked at the resort and native forest trackers are calling out the schoolgirl’s name as they search the dense forest.
A map shows the Dusun Resort near Seremban in Malaysia where Nora disappeared on Sunday
Desperate appeal: Malaysian rescuers yesterday broadcast the voice of Nora Quoirin’s mother into the jungle on loudspeakers (pictured) in the hope of luring her out
Negeri Sembilan deputy police chief Che Zakaria Othman said two dozen members of a special police commando unit were brought in today to bolster the search.
There are fears that heavy rain and thunder could hamper the search of the 12-acre resort south of Kuala Lumpur where Nora, who has learning difficulties, was last seen on Sunday.
Rescuers say that even an ‘able-bodied or normal person would be weak by the fifth day’ and are searching behind trees or rocks where Nora could be hiding.
District police chief Nor Marzukee Besar said rescuers are using recordings of her mother’s voice ‘as if the family is calling her’ and playing them over loudspeakers.
Meabh Quoirin’s voice rang out loudly through the loudspeakers, piercing the silence in the jungle, but received no answer.
The voices of her other family members have also been recorded and will be played through megaphones in the hope of luring her out.
Ms Quoirin’s voice was used first as she is closest to Nora, the police chief told Malaysian media.
However, Nora’s family members are not taking part in the search operations themselves for security reasons.
Yesterday a helicopter from the Royal Malaysian Police Air Wing Unit, equipped with a surveillance thermal imaging camera, was seen trawling dense trees near the Dusan forest eco-resort in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, where the youngster went missing.
A rescue team member combs through thick vegetation in the Malaysian forest where police are searching for Nora Quoirin
A helicopter from the Royal Malaysian Police Air Wing Unit (pictured), equipped with a surveillance thermal imaging camera, was yesterday seen trawling dense trees near the Dusan forest eco-resort in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, where the youngster went missing
Three of the rescue team survey the scene around them on Friday, the sixth day of the search for the London teenager
Malaysian police say they believe the girl is still in the area of jungle where the search is focused. ‘We still believe this missing person is still within our search vicinity,’ the police chief told reporters yesterday.
Her family say it would be extremely unusual for the reserved youngster to have wandered off on her own.
Members of the Senoi Praq, a special police team made up of indigenous tribes with forest tracking skills, are searching the forest surrounding the Dusun eco-resort.
The trackers shouted ‘Nora!’ as they waded through the hilly forest terrain yesterday.
Two drones and a team of police sniffer dogs have been deployed in the huge search operation and divers have also been sent to search rivers, on the theory that she could head downhill to try and find water.
Today police were seen handing out fliers with Nora’s picture and hanging them on walls in the hope that someone will reocgnise her.
The Lucie Blackman Trust, a British charity that supports people involved in crises overseas, has also issued a bilingual poster and urged people to help them hand out flyers in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysian rescue workers hand out instructions on Friday on the sixth day of the search for the 15-year-old London teenager
A Royal Malaysian Police officer hands a poster to a motorist as authorities widen the search for the missing teenager
A female driver is handed a flier with a picture of Nora Quoirin today, five days after she disappeared from her resort
Members of a rescue team conduct a search and rescue operation in the forest in Seremban on Friday
A Malaysian police officer hangs a flier on the wall with Nora’s picture and details on it, telling the public to get in contact
Police have released these pictures of the window which they say was left open at the holiday resort cottage
As the investigation grows increasingly desperate, police have sought advice about the possibility that ‘jungle spirits’ played a role in her disappearance.
Senior officers have discussed local folklore concerning the existence of mystical forces in the jungle where the teenager vanished.
Malaysians have long believed that spirits roam the country’s vast jungles, leading to a plethora of superstitions and a belief that the spirit world has played a role in previous disappearances.
One source said: ‘In Malaysia and in thick jungle, we believe that there is someone who is the owner of the jungle. It is very hard to explain but something we take into account.’
Officers involved in the search for the 15-year-old yesterday said that, while unlikely, police had to ‘pay respect’ to the idea – although it does not form a central part of the search operation.
Today police revealed that the open living-room door in the resort could have been opened from the outside if it was not locked from the inside.
Pictures of the cottage’s living room and ground-floor window were released yesterday as officials said that the opening was big enough for a person to squeeze through.
Police suspect that she climbed out of the ground-floor window which was found open, but have not ruled out a ‘criminal element’.
‘Only the glass window exit was used. We are certain about this, a police officer told Malaysian media yesterday, citing the work of a forensic police team.
Unknown fingerprints have also been discovered at the cottage where she disappeared, adding to the family’s fears that she was abducted.
The fingerprints were found at the open window downstairs, while her parents were in another room upstairs when she disappeared.
Investigators have questioned 20 people so far and said they had received laboratory results on the fingerprints.
A Malaysian rescue worker speaks to his colleagues as they prepare to resume the search for Nora Quoirin on Thursday
Day six: Malaysian rescue workers comb the dense forest today as they resume the search for missing London teenager Nora Quoirin who has not been seen since Sunday
A fire and rescue department officer plays the voice of Nora’s mother on a phone, projecting it through a loudspeaker
A helicopter from the Malaysian Police Air Wing Unit, equipped with a surveillance thermal imaging camera, joins the search
A Royal Malaysian Police officer shows pictures of missing Nora Quoirin to a passing motorist in Seremban today
A rescue team member searches green vegetation in the jungle for any sign of the missing teenager on Friday
A Police K9 unit team conducts a search and rescue operation with sniffer dogs, who may have found her footprints
While officially treating it as a missing person case, police say they have not ruled out any other possibilities.
It remains unclear whether it was possible to open the window from outside the property. Those running the 12-acre resort previously said this could have been the case.
Rescuers were yesterday seen praying for Nora’s safety and 300 Muslim worshippers held a service for the missing teenager on Friday, according to local media.
Negeri Sembilan police chief Che Zakaria Othman police also sought divine intervention during the Islamic Friday prayers.
‘After we have conducted our Friday prayers, we conducted a special prayer. We are asking Allah, to help us in finding this missing person Nora Anne Quoirin,’ he said.
‘What we’re doing today is to help our friends in the search effort,’ said Mohamad Taufek Awaludin, who led the session. ‘We hope that the family… will be patient. This is a test from Allah.’
The Friday prayers will continue every week if Nora is not found, the imam said.
However, sniffer dogs initially lost the scent for Nora just 100 yards from the eco-lodge bungalow where she vanished on Sunday morning.
Malaysian authorities are also said to be in contact with Interpol as they probe the mystery disappearance, and pictures of her have been distributed to police elsewhere in Malaysia.
Forest trackers are calling out Nora’s name as they comb the dense forest for any sign of the 15-year-old who vanished from her holiday resort on Sunday
Muslims pray in Seremban on Friday at a special service for the 15-year-old who has been missing since Sunday
The 15-year-old, who is from a French-Irish family and has learning and developmental disabilities, arrived for a two-week stay with her family on Saturday.
Nora, who was sleeping upstairs with her sister Innes, 12, and brother Maurice, eight, was found to be missing on Sunday morning by her father at around 8am.
The Dusun is a small resort located next to a forest reserve about 40 miles south of Kuala Lumpur.
The resort’s management said in a Facebook post that its employees were ‘extremely distressed and worried’ about her disappearance and were assisting in the search.
The teenager’s family said earlier in the week that they were ‘overwhelmed’ by the support they had received and remained ‘hopeful’ their daughter could be found.
‘This is extremely traumatic for the whole family. Meabh and Sebastien are devastated and too upset to speak themselves at this time,’ Nora’s aunt Eadaoin Agnew said, referring to the girl’s parents.
‘But we must remain hopeful. And we ask everyone to keep Nora in their thoughts, and to continue to support the ongoing search for her,’ she said.
‘Nora is still missing, and she is very vulnerable, and we need to do everything we can to bring her home.’
A Royal Malaysian Police officer points to a map showing the search and rescue operation area
Members of the Senoi Praaq unit from the Royal Malaysian Police (right), Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department personel (second right), Malaysia Civil Defence Force officers (second) and the People’s Volunteer Corps are assisting the search
Her grandfather Sylvain Quoirin that she had gone in ‘extremely mysterious’ circumstances and was not in the habit of running off.
‘In the morning, the window was open and she had disappeared,’ Quoirin said from Venisy, in north-central France where he is the mayor.
‘After an 18-hour flight and a seven-hour time difference you would sleep soundly and not go for a stroll at night,’ he said.
Nora’s family has appealed for donations to assist the search and more than £60,000 has been raised so far, as well as a further €4,000 (£3,700) in a separate French collection.
In an appeal on the GoFundMe.com, the family said Nora’s disabilities made her especially vulnerable and they fear for her safety.
‘Nora would not know how to get help and would never leave her family voluntarily,’ the statement said. ‘More family members are travelling to Malaysia to participate in the search and rescue effort and would appreciate donations to cover any unforeseen expenses or charges incurred in the process.’
Nora’s bedroom inside the Sora apartment at the Dusun Resort in Seremban, Malaysia, where she was sleeping with her siblings
The living room at the Sora apartment, where there was an open window. It is advertised as an orchard resort on the edge of the tropical rainforest
‘We are still hopeful’: The full statement issued by Nora’s family
‘Nora’s family wish to express their deepest gratitude for the Royal Malaysian Police force, the search and rescue teams, and emergency services, for all they have done for us in this difficult time.
‘We would like to thank our embassies, the local community, and the staff here at the hotel. And anyone else who has offered help to find Nora.
‘We also welcome the assistance of the French, British and Irish police.
Nora’s family giving their statement in a live TV broadcast yesterday. Pictured is her aunt (centre) and uncle Michael Agnew (right)
‘We are completely overwhelmed by the support we have received from all over the world.
‘This is extremely traumatic for the whole family. Meabh and Sebastien are devastated and too upset to speak themselves at this time.
‘We are extremely thankful to The Lucie Blackman Trust for their ongoing support.
‘They are handling all media enquiries for us and everything should be directed to them. Our family cannot face dealing with that at the moment.
‘But we must remain hopeful. And we ask everyone to keep Nora in their thoughts, and to continue to support the ongoing search for her.
‘Nora is still missing, and she is very vulnerable, and we need to do everything we can to bring her home.’