The desperate family of missing Nora Quoirin say they have ‘no reason to believe she wandered off and is lost’ – despite police refusing to say she was kidnapped.
London schoolgirl Nora, 15, who has learning difficulties, disappeared from a nature resort in Malaysia sparking a major hunt in jungle surrounding the complex.
Her family have said they believe she has been abducted after they discovered she was missing from her bedroom at the Dusun resort in southern Negeri Sembilan state on Sunday morning. The window had also been left open.
The police said there were no initial signs of foul play but Nora’s family insist they had ‘no reason to believe she wandered off and is lost.’
In a statement released on Tuesday, they added: ‘Nora’s family believe she has been abducted.
Malaysia Civil Defence Force officers and The People’s Volunteer Corps officers continue a search and rescue operation for 15-year-old Nora Quoirin from London, who was staying with her family before going missing in Seremban, Malaysia. Nora’s family released a statement today where they said they had ‘no reason to believe she had wandered off and is lost,’ despite a police refusal to say she had been kidnapped
Nora Quoirin, 15, (pictured) went missing from her bedroom on Sunday morning while on a family holiday at a nature resort in Seremban, Malaysia. The teenager has special needs and learning and developmental disabilities which her aunt said makes her ‘especially vulnerable’
Nora is pictured above with her mother Meabh Quoirin. According to a website set up by the family, those close to Nora are ‘distraught’ and are planning to travel to Malaysia to assist with the search and rescue effort
‘We are especially worried because Nora has learning and developmental disabilities, and is not like other 15-year-olds.
‘She looks younger, she is not capable of taking care of herself, and she won’t understand what is going on.
‘She never goes anywhere by herself. We have no reason to believe she wandered off and is lost.’
More than 160 personnel are now searching for Nora, local media reported.
With the search for Nora entering its third day, over 160 members of search and rescue teams (pictured) have been deployed along with helicopter and sniffer dog support. Those searching include the police, fire and rescue services department, civil defence and the forestry department
Those searching dense jungle and hilly terrain on foot and by helicopter include police, the fire and rescue services department, civil defence and the forestry department, Malaysia’s The Star reports.
Sniffer dogs are also being used in the search for Nora, who is the daughter of an Irish-French couple who have lived in London for around 20 years.
State deputy police chief Che Zakaria Othman said local indigenous people – known as Orang Asli – are also helping with the search.
The Franco-Irish teenager who usually lives in London, went missing from a rainforest resort on August 4. The Malaysian search and rescue service (pictured in blue) are now searching the surrounding forests in Seremban
‘We’ve got a platoon from the general operations force as well as a police canine team to look for Nora Anne,’ he told The Star, adding that more personnel are expected to join the search.
He added that the CCTV system at the resort is limited to the counter area.
‘The girl’s passport and other belongings are with the family,’ he said.
The surrounds of the Dusun resort are dense jungle and hilly terrain. It’s a nature reserve 63 km south of Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur
Local Police Chief, Mohamad Mat Yusop, can be seen holding a picture of 15-year-old Nora during a press conference where he appealed for further information
Missing persons charity the Lucie Blackman Trust (LBT) had previously said Nora’s disappearance was being treated as an abduction.
The girl’s family said they were treating the disappearance as a ‘criminal matter.’
Speaking to LBT from Belfast, Nora’s aunt, Aisling Agnew, said: ‘Nora’s parents and relatives in Ireland and France are distraught by her disappearance.
‘Nora is a child with special needs and has learning and developmental disabilities which make her especially vulnerable and we fear for her safety.
Pictured above are members of the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department team who have been deployed to scour the forest of Seremban to locate missing 15-year-old Nora Quoirin. Her father first raised the alarm when he realised Nora was missing from her bedroom and the window was open
A Malaysian General Operations Force (PGA) police officer points into the bush during a search and rescue operation for Nora Quoirin. This has been a joint operation between police and fire services with additional help coming from members of the indigenous community
‘Nora would not know how to get help and would never leave her family voluntarily.
‘We now consider this a criminal matter.
‘We are appealing to everyone to assist the local police in any way they can and to pass on any information that would help locate our beloved Nora without delay.”
Nora’s father raised the alarm when he discovered her missing from her bedroom at 8am local time on Sunday.
The local indigenous people – known as Orang Asli – are also helping with the search for Nora. Pictured are men passing by a signpost of the rainforest resort on a moped
Sniffer dogs and helicopters have been deployed in the search for Nora. According to the teenager’s aunt, the 15-year-old would never leave her family of her own choice. She added that the family consider the opening of the girl’s window makes this a ‘criminal matter’
A member of the General Operations force is shown at a temporary work station close to the Dusun report where Nora went missing. The town of Seremban, where the resort is located, has a population of 371,000 and is 370 square miles, prompting the search and rescue teams to deploy sniffer dogs and helicopters
Her window had been opened.
Nora, whose mother Meabh is originally from Belfast and whose father is French, is understood to have been travelling on an Irish passport.
A spokesman for Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs said: ‘We are aware of the case and providing consular assistance.’
A map shows the Dusun Resort near Seremban in Malaysia where Nora disappeared on Sunday
The 15-year-old was on the ‘trip of a lifetime’ to the Dusun resort (pictured) near Seremban on the edge of the Malaysian rainforest
An online fundraising page set up by Nora’s aunt has raised more than £10,000.
The fundraiser on gofundme.com says Nora’s families in Ireland and France are ‘distraught,’ adding: ‘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.’