Police yesterday used a helicopter and sniffer dogs in an expanded search for a 15-year-old London girl who disappeared from her bedroom at a nature resort in Malaysia on Sunday.
Nora Quoirin’s family said they discovered her missing from her bedroom at the Dusun eco-resort in southern Negeri Sembilan state on Sunday morning with the window left open, and considered it a criminal matter.
Police have said there were no initial signs of foul play.
District police chief Mohamad Nor Marzukee Besar said rescuers scoured areas surrounding the resort until 3am yesterday, but found no clues.
He said the operation involving more than 150 people resumed later yesterday morning, with a helicopter, sniffer dogs and villagers aiding in an expanded comb through the dense jungle.
“We also searched at night, but so far, there are no new leads. The operation is ongoing,” he said by phone, adding that further updates would be given at a news conference later.
The parents of Nora Quoirin, who has learning and developmental disabilities, are an Irish-French couple who have lived in London for about 20 years, according to the Lucie Blackman Trust, a British charity that support people during a crisis overseas.
Her family arrived on Saturday for a two-week trip at the Dusun, a small private resort in a durian orchard on a little hill next to a forest reserve about 63km south of Kuala Lumpur.
Haanim Bamadhaj, a resort spokesperson, said the Dusun management is baffled by Quoirin’s disappearance.
Resort staff and even some guests had joined in the search, she said.
“Our resort has been operating for 10 years and we have never even been robbed. We are doing our very best and praying hard,” she said.
Following Quoirin’s disappearance, she said some guests had canceled their bookings and that the resort had provided full refunds.
Access to the resort has been blocked due to the search operation.
The girl’s parents have declined to speak to the media.
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