Family of missing Irish teen at odds with Malaysian police who say 'no indication of foul play'
The family of an Irish teenager missing in Malaysia is at odds with police there as to whether her disappearance is a crime.
Malaysian police have said that while investigations into the disappearance of Nóra Quoirin (15), who has special needs, are continuing “so far there's no indication of foul play”.
The 15-year-old, whose mother Meabh is from Belfast, went missing while on a holiday with her family at the Dusan resort in a nature reserve 39 miles south of Kuala Lumpur.
She, her parents and two younger siblings had been travelling back to their London home from Australia and had stopped off in Malaysia for a holiday checking into the resort early on Saturday morning.
Her father Sebastien raised the alarm when he discovered Nóra was missing from her bedroom at 8am local time on Sunday. Her window had been opened.
Che Zakaria Bin Othman, deputy police chief of Negeri Sembilan, said: "So far there's no indication of foul play, however investigations are still ongoing."
However, the Lucie Blackman Trust, a missing persons charity which is supporting the family, said contrary to reports that police are not treating Nóra's disappearance as an abduction, “the family have been told directly by police that they are treating it as both an abduction and missing persons case”.
Furthermore, her family has said she would not have wandered off.
Aisling Agnew, Nóra’s aunt, said: “Nóra’s parents and relatives in Ireland and France are distraught by her disappearance.
"Nóra is a child with special needs and has learning and developmental disabilities which make her especially vulnerable and we fear for her safety.
“Nóra would not know how to get help and would never leave her family voluntarily.
"We now consider this a criminal matter. We are appealing to everyone to assist the local police in any way they can and to pass on any information that would help locate our beloved Nóra without delay.”
More than 150 people have been taking part in the search. The resort where Nóra disappeared from is in the foothills of the Titiwangsa mountains and next to a forest reserve.
It issued a statement in which it said it is working with police to try to locate the 15-year-old.
"We are extremely distressed and worried and pray for her safety. Our staff searched our 12-acre property all Sunday morning and then joined the police search of the surrounding area until 3 am this morning," it said.
"We are giving what support we can to Nóra’s distraught family."
Locals said people have gone missing in the area before, but they were mainly hikers who had lost their way.
One resident, Nikt Wong, lives at the top of the hill. He told the New Straits Times the incident involving the missing girl from a resort is the first such case he had heard of there.
