Searcher: Nora did not get to waterfall by herself
Local expert casts further doubt over police theory
NOrA Quoirin could not have reached the ravine where her body was discovered by herself, a member of the Malaysian search team said last night.
The volunteer said the barefoot 15-year-old, who had suffered physical and mental disabilities since birth, would have found it impossible to cross the arduous jungle terrain.
Displaying intimate knowledge of the area surrounding the remote Lata Berembun waterfall where Nora’s naked body was found on Tuesday, the volunteer described treacherous gradients and dense vegetation surrounding the scene.
His testimony generates yet more doubts over the police theory that Nora reached the site alone after wandering off from her family’s holiday chalet in the dead of night.
‘Nora couldn’t have got there by herself,’ the volunteer said.
‘I struggled to walk. The path is difficult even for an able-bodied person.
‘Dense vegetation snags your feet. The average gradient of the slopes where Nora was found range from 20 to 40 per cent. You have to cross two reasonably deep streams to reach the area where she was found. The terrain by the stream is very slippery. The roots and rocks are wet. My boots were destroyed by the end and Nora was barefoot. I can’t imagine how she could have walked to the place where she was found.’
Nora’s French grandfather said on Wednesday that it was ‘absurd’ to suggest the vulnerable teenager had reached the waterfall by herself.
Sylvain Quoirin, the mayor of the village of Venizy, northcentral France, added: ‘It is completely unthinkable that she should have gone out on her own at night. You can completely exclude that possibility.’
Nora had a smaller than average brain and struggled to act independently, having been born with Patau’s syndrome, or holoprosencephaly. The condition left her struggling to complete everyday tasks and with limited speech, walking ability and co-ordination. Last night, Malaysian police were said to be re-examining reports that a villager saw a ‘white girl’ swimming in the area on the day Nora disappeared.
The witness was riding a motorbike when he spotted the girl at 7pm on Sunday, August 4.
Yesterday Nora’s heartbroken parents said they were ‘struggling to understand the events of the last ten days’ as they prepared to bring her body home to Britain.
After meeting Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, Meabh and Sebastien Quoirin said: ‘Our beautiful, innocent girl died in extremely complex circumstances and we are hoping that soon we will have more answers to our many questions.’ Detectives say Nora starved to death after a week in the jungle alone, but from the day she went missing, her family expressed fears she could have been abducted.
The ravine where she was found – which is only 1.6 miles from the lodge where her family was staying – was repeatedly searched by rescue teams during the first seven days of her disappearance.
Police have been unable to adequately explain why she was missed. It also remains unexplained why she was not wearing the underwear she had on when she was last seen by her parents at bedtime on August 3.
A former senior police officer advising the family has appealed for authorities to retain an ‘open mind’ about the cause of death. Jim Gamble said: ‘The family themselves have always had a question mark of whether there was any criminal activity and I think everyone should retain an open mind. We know why Nora died, in simple terms from starvation, we know where she ended up, but we don’t necessarily know how she got there.’
‘I am not trying to pour fuel on the speculative fire but all of those things need to be considered.’
A Malaysian police chief has said officers had uncovered no evidence of abduction or kidnapping ‘for the time being’, but Mr Gamble said it could not be ruled out.
He added that the Quoirin family needed to be given ‘the time and the space to grieve with dignity’ as they ‘bring this very, very special child home’. The family said Nora will be buried ‘close to her loving families in France and Ireland’.
They also thanked Malaysian authorities and search parties for their efforts.
Nora, from south London, had travelled to the Dunsun resort – about 40 miles south of Kuala Lumpur – on August 3 with her parents, sister Innes, 12, and brother Maurice, eight.
After going to sleep with her siblings in an upstairs bedroom, she was discovered missing by her French father shortly after 8am the next day.
HOW COULD THEY HAVE MISSED HER? From yesterday’s Mail