Grandfather of missing Nora Quoirin refuses to believe she walked away
‘After an 18-hour flight she would be sleeping, not go for a stroll’: Grandfather of missing British 15-year-old Nora Quoirin refuses to believe police claims she walked away from Malaysian jungle resort – as local tribes join search for her
- Brit Nora Quoirin, 15, went missing from a Malaysian rainforest resort on Sunday
- Police say she is a missing person but her family insist that Nora was kidnapped
- Her grandfather Sylvain said Nora ‘disappeared in mysterious circumstances’
- However, he is now optimistic she’ll be found after huge rescue effort to find her
- Local tribe the Orang Asli people have joined police in the search for missing girl
The anguished grandfather of missing British teenager Nora Quoirin, who disappeared in Malaysia on Sunday morning, says she is not in the habit of running off after police insisted she wasn’t kidnapped.
Nora, 15, from London, went missing soon after her family checked in to the Dusun Resort, which is about an hour from capital Kuala Lumpur.
Her family says that she has learning difficulties and believe that she was snatched, though police are treating her disappearance as a missing person’s case and not an abduction.
Her grandfather Sylvain Quoirin has now said by phone from Venisy, in north-central France where he is the mayor: ‘Nora disappeared in extremely mysterious conditions since she was sleeping in the room with her sister and brother.
‘In the morning, the window was open and she had disappeared, whereas after an 18-hour flight and a seven-hour time difference you would sleep soundly and not go for a stroll at night.
‘Everyone went to bed tired, and in the morning Nora wasn’t there.’
A local tribe joined more than 180 people on the third day of the search and Nora’s grandfather is optimistic she will be found.
Malaysian divers take part in a search and rescue operation for the missing 15-year-old Franco-Irish, Nora Quoirin
Nora Quoirin, 15, (pictured) went missing from her bedroom on Sunday morning while on a family holiday at a nature resort in Seremban, Malaysia. Authorities in Malaysia are adamant the British 15-year-old, who has learning difficulties, knowingly ventured out of the rented property that borders thick jungle and got lost
The Orang Asli people, who have knowledge of the dense terrain, are assisting police as the search widens beyond a seven mile radius.
New photos have revealed the extensive search to find the missing teenager, with police, tribesmen, soldiers and sniffer dogs also joining the hunt.
Divers were seen combing lakes in the jungle near the resort where Nora was last seen.
The teen is the daughter of a Franco-Irish couple who have been living in London for around 20 years.
The family had planned to stay in Malaysia for two weeks, her grandfather said, and Nora was ‘absolutely not’ in the habit of running off.
Members of Malaysian rescue team take part in a search and rescue operation for the missing teenager
Members of the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department comb the jungle as they search for the schoolgirl
A Malaysian diver searches the water for any sign or clue that would point to where Nora is
Malaysian rescue teams comb the forest near the resort where British teenager Nora Quoirin went missing on Sunday
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
‘This is a young girl with a mild handicap who is rather timid, reserved. She is someone very fearful.’
Quoirin said he understood that the French ambassador had met high-level Malaysian officials over the case.
‘I dare to believe that we are going to find her because enormous means have been put in place,’ he added.
‘Things are being done seriously now.’
The helicopter and more than 180 people from various government agencies searched for her through the jungles near the resort, said senior police official Mohamad Mat Yusop.
‘We will do our best and will not give up hope,’ he told reporters. ‘We feel she did not go far.’
A helicopter joined more than 180 people on the third day of the search for the missing girl
A helicopter and dozens of people were deployed August 7 on the third day of the search
The Orang Asli people, a local tribe that has knowledge of the dense terrain, are assisting police in the search
Authorities in Malaysia are adamant the British 15-year-old, who has learning difficulties, knowingly ventured out of the rented property
However, Nora’s family insist that she wouldn’t have walked away from the resort voluntarily
Nora Quoirin vanished from the eco-lodge bungalow where she was staying with her family on Sunday morning
A map shows the Dusun Resort near Seremban in Malaysia where Nora disappeared on Sunday
Nora’s family have told the Lucie Blackman Trust, a British charity that supports the families of British people who go missing abroad, that they suspect foul play.
The Dusun is a 12-acre (five-hectare) resort in the foothills of a mountain range and next to a forest reserve.
On Sunday morning the teen’s family couldn’t find her in her hotel room, which had a window open, a relative in France said.
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.
On Sunday morning the teen’s family couldn’t find her in her hotel room, which had a window open
Her father Sebastien, who found her bed empty and the room’s window open, said yesterday: ‘We believe she may have been abducted’
The resort’s management said in a Facebook post that its employees were ‘extremely distressed and worried’ about her disappearance
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
One of Nora’s aunts, Aisling Agnew from Belfast, has set up an online fundraising campaign that aims to help cover expenses of other family members who are travelling to Malaysia to join the search effort.
It comes as relatives lashed out after it emerged that sniffer dogs lost the scent for Nora Quoirin just 100 yards from the eco-lodge bungalow where she vanished on Sunday morning.
Authorities in Malaysia are adamant the British 15-year-old, who has learning difficulties, knowingly ventured out of the rented property that borders thick jungle and got lost.
But her ‘increasingly frustrated’ family fear she was snatched by a stranger and insist that the police’s narrow approach may be hampering the investigation.
Her father Sebastien, who found her bed empty and the room’s window open, said yesterday: ‘We believe she may have been abducted.’
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