Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Chris Kitching

Family of missing Nora Quoirin offer €10,800 reward to find teen in Malaysian jungle

Missing schoolgirl Nora Quoirin's devastated family are offering a €10,800 reward for information leading to her return.

The money was donated by an anonymous Belfast business.

The 15-year-old London schoolgirl vanished from a jungle resort in Malaysia on August 4 while on a two-week holiday with her mum Meabh, dad Sebastien and her two younger siblings.

More than €110,000 has been donated to help Nora's parents, who were urged to consider offering a cash reward.

Speaking today, Nora's family said: “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.

(PA)

"We are appealing to anyone who has information about Nora to help us find her.

"The police have been working extremely hard to bring Nora home.

"In order to help their investigation, we have decided to offer a reward: 50,000R [Malaysian ringgit] has been donated by an anonymous Belfast-based business for any information that directly helps us to find Nora.

"If you have any information at all, please call the police hotline here on 01112285058 or email ops@lbtrust.org from outside Malaysia."

Missing persons charity the Lucie Blackman Trust, which is supporting the Quoirins, said in a statement: "Nora Quoirin’s devastated family have today offered a reward of 50,000MYR (approximately €10,800) for information leading to the return of their daughter."

The search was in its ninth day on Monday as cadaver dogs and shamans joined the hunt for the teen.

Around 350 personnel have been searching dense jungle and a river for Nora.

Shamans went into trances as they performed rituals to summon spirits who they believe can assist the search in the snake-infested jungle.

(AFP/Getty Images)

Officers from Scotland Yard and the National Crime Agency are also helping in the effort to find ­the Franco-Irish teen, and Irish hostage and kidnap specialists are on standby.

Nora's family have said they believe the teen, who was born with the brain defect holoprosencephaly and has special needs, was abducted from their cottage at the Dusun resort, about an hour south of Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian officials have said there was "no proof" she was kidnapped, but they were not ruling out any possibilities.

Police believe she wandered off and got lost in the jungle. A window was open when the teen was discovered missing.

Nora has been missing for a week (PA)

On Monday, search teams went through the jungle with cadaver dogs and five shamans offered help.

The men performed a ritual together in the forest.

The group's representative, Mohd Khalid Mohamed, told Front Desk: “When the incident happened in the village, it made us want to come here and offer help using other alternative ways to locate the missing teenager.

"We hope this child can be found safe."

With authorities from Britain, Ireland and France all helping the search, trackers were going through steep terrain made even more dangerous due to recent rainfall.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke visited the site to meet search and rescue teams and offer the government's support.

The jet-lagged Quoirins - including Nora's 12-year-old sister and eight-year-old brother - checked into the Dusun resort resort near Seremban, about an hour south of Kuala Lumpur, on August 3.

Nora went to bed in an upstairs room and was discovered missing at 8am the following morning, according to her family.

Meabh Quoirin and Nora Quoirin (Family Handout/PA)

It is believed she was barefoot and wearing her night clothes.

Search teams have used drones and helicopters with thermal imaging and gone through the jungle playing a recording of 45-year-old Mrs Quoirin's voice.

Known paedophiles have been interviewed and police have visited the homes of at least 30 local people as part of the hunt.

Mrs Quoirin, originally from Belfast, and 47-year-old Mr Quoirin, who is from France, have lived in London for 20 years.

The couple, who currently reside in Balham, thanked those involved in looking for her during an emotional speech on Saturday.

"You have given up your time especially at a special festival time," said Ms Quoirin, referring to Hari Raya Haji, the Islamic "festival of sacrifice" celebrations.

In a video broadcast on local media, she added: "We want to say thank you to each and every one of you. We know you're searching night and day for Nora.

(Chris Jung/ZUMA Wire/REX)

"We see you working so hard and also praying with us and being with us."

The family have said they remain hopeful after police leading the investigation refused to rule out a "criminal element".

A spokeswoman for the NCA said: "The National Crime Agency, the Met Police and the Irish police are working together to help and support the Malaysian authorities relating to Nora Quoirin's disappearance."

Search timeline

August 4: Nora was reported missing after her father discovered she was not in her bedroom at the Dusan 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: British missing persons charity the Lucie Blackman Trust, which is assisting the Quoirins, said that Malaysian police were treating Nora's disappearance as a potential abduction, but officers denied there was any foul play involved.

August 6: Nora's family said they believed her to have been abducted.

August 7: Police said they were analysing unidentified fingerprints found in the family's hotel suite.

August 9: Police investigated whether footprints found in the forest where Nora went missing belonged to the missing teen.

August 10: Nora's family thanked the search teams involved since the teenager's disappearance.

August 12: The Quoirins offer a €10,800 reward for information leading to her safe return.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.