Missing Nora could have been taken, police admit
U-turn on abduction theory as jungle search enters fifth day
POLICE investigating the disappearance of a schoolgirl on holiday in the Malaysian jungle have made a major U-turn, now saying they have not ruled out criminal involvement.
The family of Nora Quoirin believe the 15-year-old has been abducted and have accused local police of missing vital clues by ignoring their fears.
Following the accusations, investigators who had previously insisted the case was simply a missing person inquiry yesterday said they had ‘ not ruled out’ foul play.
The about-turn came after extensive searches around the remote eco resort where Nora had been staying with her parents and two siblings enter their fifth day without having turned up any clues.
Yesterday it emerged that the schoolgirl, who has learning difficulties, had been sleeping in an upstairs bedroom at the lodge next to her sister Innes, 12, and brother Maurice, eight.
The family are understood to have gone to bed after arriving at the resort from their home in Streatham, south London, for a two-week trip on Saturday.
The alarm was raised on Sunday morning when Nora’s French father Sebastien discovered that a downstairs window close to the lower-floor master bedroom was wide open, with Nora’s bed empty.
Police have refused to disclose 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.
Forensic checks have been carried out on the apartment and police have been investigating fingerprints although there found is on no the indication window, they are suspicious.
The ‘ extremely vulnerable’ schoolgirl’s grandfather Sylvain Quoirin said it was ‘unthinkable’ she would have left on her own.
He said: ‘She’s a young girl who is very shy, very reserved, very fearful. It is completely unthinkable that she should have gone out on her own at night, you can completely exclude that possibility.’ Mr Quoirin, a mayor in Venizy, south east of Paris, added: ‘After an 18-hour flight and a seven-hour time difference you’d sleep soundly and not go for a stroll at night.’ Divers yesterday searched a river close to the Dusun resort, which borders thick jungle 40 miles south of the capital Kuala Lumpur. A helicopter, two drones, sniffer dogs and 214 people from various government agencies were also deployed in the search, alongside members of a local tribe.
The investigation has been hampered by a lack of CCTV at the resort, which did not have guards.
Nora’s Irish mother Meabh and father are among 20 people who gave witness statements.
The couple have grown ‘increasingly frustrated’ with the investigation, believing police may have missed opportunities by failing to seriously consider the possibility of abduction. They say it would be highly out of character for her to leave the property on her own.
Che Zakaria Othman, the deputy state police chief, yesterday reiterated that investigators had found no evidence pointing towards a criminal act. But he added: ‘Even though we are investigating the case as a missing person, we are not ruling out any other criminal possibility at this point.’ Mr and Mrs Quoirin, a data analysis firm salesman and market research company director, have been joined in Malaysia by relatives to help in the search. The couple, who met in Northern Ireland and have lived in London for 20 years, were too upset to take part in a TV appeal last night but relatives traumatic said for it the had whole been ‘extremely family’. They added: ‘We must remain hopeful. Nora is still missing, and she is very vulnerable, and we need to do everything we can to bring her home.’