Family fear daughter, 15, with special needs ‘was abducted in Malaysia’

The family of a 15-year-old London girl who disappeared from a nature resort in Malaysia believe she has been abducted.

Nora Quoirin’s family say they discovered her missing from her bedroom at the Dusun resort in southern Negeri Sembilan state on Sunday morning, with the window left open, and considered it a criminal matter.

The police said there were no initial signs of foul play but Nora’s family said they had ‘no reason to believe she wandered off and is lost’.

In a statement released today, they added: ‘Nora’s family believe she has been abducted.

‘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.’

Police have expanded the search for Nora, with more than 160 officers looking for the teenager, who has special needs, local media reported.

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 about 20 years.

Police said local indigenous people – known as Orang Asli – are also helping with the search.

Negeri Sembilan police chief Mohamad Mat Yusop told a press conference on Tuesday that there was no evidence Nora had been abducted.

The police chief said: ‘We have no clues, no evidence to say this case is abduction.

‘We will do our very best. We will not give up hope. We believe that she didn’t go far and that she had lost her way.’

He said that sniffer dogs had picked up the teenager’s scent within 100 metres from her resort bedroom but the trail stopped there.

He added the girl’s mother had reported that she was only in her undergarments when they put her to bed but it was unclear if she was dressed when she disappeared because nobody saw her leave.

Villagers who joined in the search expressed concern over Nora’s fate.

Bali anak Akau said: ‘This particular jungle, for outsiders, they don’t know how to navigate, they get lost. Natives like me, we are used to this jungle.’

Missing persons charity the Lucie Blackman Trust (LBT) had previously said Nora’s disappearance was being treated as an abduction.

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.

‘Nora would not know how to get help and would never leave her family voluntarily.

‘We now consider this a criminal matter.’