Latest
JUNGLE TRAGEDY
Nora Quoirin mystery deepens as post-mortem is ruled ‘inconclusive’ and French launch ‘kidnapping’ investigation
THE cause of Brit teenager Nora Quoirin's death is still a mystery after a postmortem examination proved inconclusive today and will continue tomorrow, cops have revealed.
The 15-year-old's naked remains were discovered by hikers yesterday near an isolated jungle waterfall nine days after she vanished from the resort where she was staying.
12
12
The initial post-mortem results will give no comfort to Nora's parents who are desperate for answers over their beloved daughter's death, amid claims she could have been abducted and her body dumped later.
Parents Meabh, 45, and Sebastien, 47, identified the body as that of their missing eldest daughter and later paid an emotional tribute.
It comes as:
- Hikers who found Nora's remains say 'she looked like she was sleeping'
- Her family demand to know whether her body had been dumped in ravine
- Cops admit they may have missed her on first search of Malaysian jungle
- A volunteer believes her body must have been moved as it was left out in open
The devastating discovery came more than a week after Nora went missing on August 4.
Four pathologists have been working on the examination of her body but are to determine her cause of death.
FRANCE LAUNCHES PROBE
Two investigators from the OCRVP are currently in Malaysia and have joined with police officers from France and Ireland.
A lawyer representing the family in France that the parents filed a complaint “for kidnapping" and are convinced her disappearance is of "criminal" origin
Nora’s parents are also asking questions as to why police may have initially missed her body and if it could have been moved there at a later date.
A volunteer hiker who was part of a group of who found the body said it must have been dumped there after an initial sweep by search parties failed to spot it.
Local media reported that a forensic team also went back to the area where the body was found to comb for evidence.
Paying tribute to the teenager who had "truly touched the world", her family said: "The cruelty of her being taken away is unbearable. Our hearts are broken."
MYSTERY DEEPENS
Police said they will provide another update outside the hospital tomorrow morning.
Speaking outside Tuanku Jaafar Hospital, Negri Sembilan police deputy chief SAC Che Zakaria Othman said: "Since the four-member team are still carrying out their work, there is nothing we can say for the moment.
"So we will only make an official announcement tomorrow."
Earlier today, prosecutors in France begun a probe into whether Nora was kidnapped before her body was found in the jungle.
The 15-year-old's dad is French and the launch of their investigation comes as a hiker who found her body at a waterfall said he believe she must have been dumped at there.
The probe is being handled by the OCRVP division of the Police Nationale, which is responsible for fighting serious and organised crime, judicial sources told
Timeline of Nora's disappearance
August 3: Nora arrives in Malaysia with her parents and siblings
August 4: Nora found to be missing from bed
August 5: More than 120 officials are deployed to search for teenager
August 6: Nora's family reveal they suspect she was abducted
August 7: Search is upped to include helicopters, drones, sniffer dogs and more than 215 people
August 8: Recordings of Nora's mother's voice played into jungle
August 9: Drones equipped with heat detection deployed
August 10: Police narrow search area
August 11: Hotline activated in Malaysia for public tip-offs
August 12: Family offer £10,000 reward donated by Belfast businessman
August 13: Nora's naked body is found near waterfall
August 14: Postmortem examinations begin
12
12
The family’s spokesman Matthew Searle, of the Lucie Blackman Trust, said they still have “a large amount of questions”.
He said: “One of those questions is, has the body been there all the time or is there a criminal involvement? Was the body dumped there afterwards?”
The body was found in an area that had previously been searched, admitted Malaysia's Deputy Inspector General of Police Mazn Mazlan.
'COMPLETELY NAKED'
It is understood Nora had been wearing underwear when she went missing – but police said when she was found she was “completely naked”.
A volunteer taking part in the search, Sean Yeap, revealed that the body had not been covered in any foliage.
He also commented that if the police and volunteers had walked through the area she would have been spotted but that it was one of the areas first searched.
He told the Mail Online: "I think maybe she was elsewhere and could have walked to the stream perhaps to drink some water."
Mr Mazlan confirmed a criminal investigation was still on-going alongside a missing persons inquiry.
He said he could not comment on whether someone else could have been involved in the tragedy or whether Nora had suffered any injuries.
'WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE OUR NORA'
A statement from the devastated family thanked everyone who had helped search and tried their best to find their daughter.
They said: "We thank the local people here and those far and wide for their prayers and support at this time.
"Nora has brought people together, especially from France, Ireland, Britain and Malaysia, united in their love and support for her and her family.
"To all our friends and family at home, we can't thank you enough for all your love.
"Nora is at the heart of our family. She is the truest, most precious girl and we love her infinitely.
"We will always love our Nora."
12
12
Nora's parents visited the site where her body was found and later identified her body at the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital at around 7pm local time after it was taken there by helicopter.
The family's lawyer, Sankara Nair, that the family was "distraught and highly traumatised".
The officer who has been leading the hunt, Datuk Mazlan Mansor, earlier said Nora's body was discovered in a stream running through a ravine "and she was found completely naked”.
He said the area had already been searched but a group of volunteers helping with the hunt came across the body after being tipped off.
"The stream was about 1.2km deep in the ravine,” he said.
12
12
12
The teenager was discovered missing from her bedroom at the Dusun eco-resort in southern Negeri Sembilan state on the morning of Sunday August 4, with the window left open.
Her parents have always insisted their daughter, who was born with a debilitating brain condition, wouldn't have wandered off alone, so they believed she was abducted.
She was on family holiday with her sister Innes, 12 and brother Maurice, eight, at the time of her disappearance.
A volunteer searcher told the Nora had told her parents she was "excited" about seeing a waterfall.
12
12
Nora's parents are an Irish-French couple who have lived in London for about 20 years.
The teen had only arrived the day earlier with her parents and two siblings at the resort - in a nature reserve near Seremban, 39 miles south of the capital Kuala Lumpur.
It was the start of a two-week "trip of a lifetime", a family friend said.
Nora's parents discovered her missing from her room at the Dusun resort last Sunday morning after putting her to bed the night before wearing only her undergarments.
The Dusun is a 12-acre orchard resort next to the Berembun Forest Reserve - 4,000 acres of protected virgin forest rising to 3,900 feet.
There are two small villages near the resort where the majority of residents work in farming of the local land.
MOST READ IN NEWS
Nearly 350 people were involved in a massive search operation that included sniffer dogs, elite commando forces and thermal detectors.
Police officers from the UK, Ireland and France also went to Malaysia to help in the search, for Nora, who was born with a brain defect.
Shamans were even brought in to pray for her safe return and video footage showed them praying cross legged on the jungle floor.
The desperate search for Nora
August 4: Nora is reported missing after her father discovers she is not in her bedroom at the Dusun Resort at around 8am on Sunday.
The window was also open in the room that Nora had been sharing with her two siblings.
August 5: Missing persons charity The Lucie Blackman Trust says that Malaysian police are treating Nora's disappearance as a potential abduction, but officers deny there is any foul play involved.
August 6: Nora's family say they believe her to have been abducted.
"She never goes anywhere by herself. We have no reason to believe she wandered off and is lost."
August 7: Police say they are analysing unidentified fingerprints an open window and in a downstairs hall found in the family's hotel suite.
August 9: Police investigate whether footprints found in the forest where Nora went missing belong to the missing teen. Her family say she wouldn't have wandered off on her own.
August 10: Nora's family thank the search teams involved since the teenager's disappearance.
August 11: Hundreds of rescuers still involved in the search operation a week after she disappeared.
August 12: A visibly emotional Mrs Quoirin makes a further appeal for her daughter to return home.
"Nora is our first child. She has been vulnerable since the day she was born.
"She is so precious to us and our hearts are breaking. We are appealing to anyone who has information about Nora to help us find her."
A reward of £10,000 - donated by an anonymous Belfast business - is made available for information leading to Nora's safe return.
August 13: A body is found and police said Nora's parents confirmed it was her .
12
Lawyer representing Nora Quoirin's family says her passing is highly traumatic
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.
Topics