Body Found in Hunt for Irish Teen Nora Quoirin at Dusun Resort, Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian police said Tuesday the family of a missing 15-year girl has positively identified the body of Nora Quoirin found near nature resort.

Nora Quoirin, who has special needs, disappeared from her room at the Dusun resort on 4 August.

Malaysian police confirmed rescuers had found a body on Tuesday near where Nora was reported missing.

Missing persons charity the Lucie Blackman Trust said the body had not been identified but was “likely” to be the teenager, from London.

About 350 people had been searching for Nora in dense jungle near the resort.

BBC correspondent Howard Johnson said her body had been found just over a mile (2km) away from the resort.

State police chief Mohamad Mat Yusop said officials were in the process of determining whether the body, of a Caucasian female, was Nora Quoirin.

Treating the Disappearance of  Nora Quoirin as a Missing Persons Case

Authorities have been treating Nora’s disappearance as a missing persons case, but her family have said they believe she may have been abducted.

Nora was born with holoprosencephaly, a disorder which affects brain development, and her family said she was “not independent and does not go anywhere alone”.

On Monday, her parents Meabh and Sebastien, a French-Irish couple who have lived in London for 20 years, put up a 50,000 Malaysian ringgit (£10,000) reward for help to find her.

While announcing the reward, they described their daughter as being “so precious to us”, adding their “hearts are breaking”.

More than £110,000 has been donated on two crowdfunding sites set up by relatives to cover costs incurred by the family during the 10-day search.

Over £98,000 has been raised on a page set up by Nora’s aunt, while a second created by her uncle which allows people to pay in euros has reached more than €17,500 (£16,000).

Investigators said they had not ruled out a “Criminal Element” in the teenager’s Disappearance.

Nora, her parents and her younger brother and sister arrived at the resort in a nature reserve near Seremban, about 39 miles south of Kuala Lumpur, on 3 August for a two-week stay.

Her father raised the alarm at 08:00 local time the next day after she was discovered missing from her bedroom.

Search teams were assisted by local Orang Asli people, who have knowledge of the jungle terrain, while two shamans also joined the operation.

The National Crime Agency (NCA), the Met Police, Irish and French police have also been providing support to Malaysian authorities.

In a statement the Lucie Blackman Trust said: “We can confirm a body has been found in the search for Nora Quoirin.

“At this time we cannot confirm it is Nora. However it sadly seems likely. Investigations are under way to confirm identity and cause of death.”

Source: BBC