Police in Malaysia are being aided by a local tribe in their desperate hunt for missing 15-year-old Nora Quoirin.
Officers last night extended the jungle search as Nora’s family, including mum Meabh from Belfast , insisted the vulnerable teen must have been abducted.
Local police chiefs said there was “no evidence” of her being taken.
They revealed sniffer dogs lost Nora’s scent 100 metres from her room in the exclusive Dusun rainforest resort, 40 miles south of capital Kuala Lumpur.
Local Orang Asli people, who have knowledge of the dense terrain, are assisting police as the search widens beyond a seven mile radius, the Mirror reports .
They join an expanding search team of over 160 .
Nora, who has special needs, was not in the room she was sharing with her two younger siblings when dad Seb went in at 8am on Sunday. Mum Meabh is also with the family for the “trip of a lifetime”.
Seb said on Facebook: “Our daughter has been missing for three days. We believe she may have been abducted. We need your support.”
Police chief Mohamad Mat Yusop said: “We believe she didn’t go far and she lost her way. We will do our very best. We will not give up hope.”
Her family in the UK said yesterday: “Nora is not like other 15 year olds. She looks younger, she is not capable of taking care of herself. She never goes anywhere by herself.”
Police said there was no evidence that a break-in or struggle had taken place in the family's rented accommodation.
"She may be lost. We will keep looking for her," the police chief added.
He said the effort would focus on the Sungai Berembum river about 200ft from the resort.
Those searching dense jungle and hilly terrain on foot and by helicopter include police, the fire and rescue services department, civil defence, and the forestry department, Malaysia's The Star newspaper reported.
Sniffer dogs are also being used in the hunt for Nora, who is the daughter of an Irish-French couple who have lived in London for around 20 years.
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