Several footprints believed to belong to a London schoolgirl missing in Malaysia have been found by a search and rescue team in a dense jungle.
The footprints were discovered near to the isolated resort where Nora Quoirin, 15, vanished last weekend during a family holiday.
Teams have been searching that area without any luck as the hunt for the missing Franco-Irish teen, who has special needs and is "vulnerable", entered its sixth day on Friday.
Nora's family believe she was abducted from the holiday cottage at the Dusun resort, while police have said there is "no evidence" she is kidnapped and they believe she is still in the tropical rainforest after climbing out of a window.
Police have refused to rule out a "criminal element" as Nora's family remain hopeful she will be found alive during the search in Malaysia's southern Negeri Sembilan state.
An official involved in the search told reporters that several footprints believed to belong to Nora were found by a canine unit of the Fire and Rescue Department on Thursday, the New Straits Times reported.
Assistant director Ahmad Mukhlis Mokhtar said teams focused on that area but found no further clues.
He told reporters: “Previously, our detective canines had spotted footprints, but when we conducted a search there, we couldn’t find her."
Experts are already analysing fingerprints found at an open window in a downstairs hall of the cottage where Nora was staying with her parents, mum Meabh and dad Sebastien, and her two siblings.
Deputy police chief Che Zakaria Othman previously said police have received the laboratory results of fingerprint samples taken from the Quoirin family's accommodation.
Investigations are still ongoing to identify who the fingerprints belong to.
Mr Mukhlis said teams are optimistic Nora is still in the forest and hopeful that she will be found alive soon during a search that remains within four miles of the resort.
He said the operation would also focus on hills in the jungle because Nora could be hiding behind trees or rocks.
Nora was staying in an upstairs room next to her siblings and was last seen when she went to bed on Saturday night, just hours after the jet-lagged family checked in following their arrival in Malaysia.
Her father discovered her missing on Sunday at 8am, the family say.
Nora's mum is originally from Belfast and her father is from France.
The family, including Nora's younger brother and sister, live in London, and it is understood the teen was travelling on an Irish passport.
The Quoirins were staying in one of the luxury resort's seven cottages during a two-week holiday.
Mr and Mrs Quoirin believe Nora, who has learning and developmental disabilities, was abducted.
More than 250 personnel are involved in the search, which has used drones equipped with thermal imaging technology, helicopters, sniffer dogs, divers and local villagers who say the jungle is like their "playground".
Teams have also played a recorded message from her mother on loudspeakers, hoping she would hear it and emerge.
In the recording, her mum says: "Nora darling, Nora I love you, mum is here."
Police chief Datuk Mohamad Mat Yusop told The Star that the missing 15-year-old's family members are not part of the search operations for security reasons.
Mr Mohamad said Nora was believed to have climbed out of her resort room window.
"An able-bodied or normal person would be weak by the fifth day, and that is why we need to find the victim as soon as possible," he said.
Photos of Nora have been posted in the area and handed out at roadblocks.
Search and rescue units have had to contend with poor weather conditions, including thick fog and torrential rain. Trees were blocking a road following a storm.
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Nora's family has expressed its "deepest gratitude" to the Royal Malaysia Police and others helping the search in a rainforest near the town of Seremban, about an hour south of Kuala Lumpur.
The family's earlier statement said: "We would like to thank our embassies, the local community, and the staff here at the hotel and anyone else who has offered help to find Nora.
"We also welcome the assistance of the French, British and Irish police.
"We are completely overwhelmed by the support we have received from all over the world."
"This is extremely traumatic for the whole family," the statement added.
The family also said: "We must remain hopeful.
"And we ask everyone to keep Nora in their thoughts, and to continue to support the ongoing search for her.
"Nora is still missing, and she is very vulnerable, and we need to do everything we can to bring her home."
A GoFundMe set up to support Nora's family while they remain in Malaysia had raised almost £70,000 as of Friday morning.
