Malaysian police find body of French-Irish teen who went missing

Family confirmed body is that of Nora Anne Quoirin who was reported missing on August 4, police say.

Family members arrive to see the body of 15-year-old Irish girl Nora Anne Quoirin at Tuanku Jaafar Hospital in Seremban
Malaysia police say an autopsy will be done on Wednesday to investigate the cause of the teen's death [Lim Huey Teng/Reuters]

Police in Malaysia have found the unclothed body of a French-Irish teenager who went missing from a resort in the Southeast Asian country 10 days ago, though it was not yet clear what caused her death.

Fifteen-year-old Nora Anne Quoirin, who had suffered learning difficulties, was reported missing on August 4 after her family arrived at the Dusun rainforest resort in Seremban, about 70km south of Kuala Lumpur.

“The family has been brought in to identify the body found today and they have confirmed that the body is indeed Nora Anne,” Mohamad Mat Yusof, police chief of the state where the resort is located, said on Tuesday.

An autopsy will be done on Wednesday morning, he added.

The body, found near a stream about 2.5km from the resort, was winched up and then flown by helicopter to a nearby hospital, police said.

Authorities had begun a criminal investigation into the disappearance, according to Malaysia’s deputy police chief, Mazlan Mansor, although an initial inquiry revealed no evidence of criminal behaviour.

The teenager had been vulnerable since birth, never went out alone and had limited verbal communication skills, her family said last week, adding that she had visited many countries in Asia and Europe but never before wandered off.

She attended a school for young people with learning and communication difficulties.

Quoirin lived with her family in London but carried dual Irish and French citizenship.

Worldwide support

The incident drew worldwide attention and support for the family, including from Garry Kasparov, a Russian former world chess champion.

An anonymous Belfast-based business donated a reward of 50,000 ringgit ($11,953) for information leading to a rescue.

While officially treating it as a missing person case, police had not ruled out other possibilities.

Nearly 350 people were involved in a significant search operation that included sniffer dogs, elite commando forces and thermal detectors.

Police from Ireland, France and the United Kingdom were also involved to assist in the investigation.

Source: News Agencies