THE FAMILY OF Nóra Quoirin has issued a statement aiming to clarify “unhelpful” comments that they say could hinder police investigations. 

The Lucie Blackman Trust, a charity that supports relatives of British people missing overseas, issued a statement on behalf of the family. It states that it would like to clarify “several comments that have been attributed to the family or to people claiming to act on behalf of the family”.

The family said it wanted to be “absolutely clear” that the only comments and statements relating to the disappearance, death, or investigation that are actually from the family are those released via the Lucie Blackman Trust.

The family said that other views “do not necessarily reflect the views of the immediate family or an accurate portrayal of the facts”.

Nóra’s family are concerned that continued reporting of comments such as those recently reported are unhelpful and may hinder any investigations, as well as causing confusion and distress for them.

Repatriation 

Irish citizen Nóra Quoirin went missing on Sunday 4 August after arriving at The Dusun resort near the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. Her disappearance sparked a massive 10-day search in the jungle that involved hundreds of people, helicopters, drones and sniffer dogs.

The search came to a tragic end on Tuesday when the her body was discovered in a ravine beside a stream 2km from the resort.

An autopsy showed the 15-year-old likely starved and died of internal bleeding after about a week in the jungle, with no signs of abduction or foul play, police said.

Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister, who met with the family, conveyed her condolences and said it was a “tragic thing to happen”.

Her Irish mother Meabh and French father Sebastien paid tribute to their daughter in a statement released through the Lucie Blackman Trust:

“Nóra is at the heart of our family. She is the truest, most precious girl and we love her infinitely. The cruelty of her being taken away is unbearable. Our hearts are broken,” the family said. 

We will always love our Nóra.

Mohamad Mat Yusop, the police chief of Negeri Sembilan state, said that her remains would be repatriated to London where she had lived with her family.

The Lucie Blackman Trust is arranging repatriation of Nora’s body, and said that no dates or destinations would be released at this point.

- with reporting from Conor McCrave