LAST UPDATE | 12 Aug 2019
A HANDFUL OF traditional Malaysian shamans have joined in the search efforts to locate 15-year-old Nora Quoirin who has been missing in Malaysia for more than a week.
On Friday, it was revealed that a Garda liaison officer was deployed to Malaysia to assist with efforts to locate the young girl.
Nora is the daughter of an Irish mother and French father and so carries an Irish passport.
Her family had been living in London before travelling on a family holiday to the Malaysian resort of Dusun in Seremban, near the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, on 3 August.
Hundreds of police and volunteers have been helping in the search over the past week.
A search team of over 300 people, along with sniffer dogs, helicopters and drones set out on a trek through jungle terrain in a bid to find her.
A spokesperson for the UK’s National Crime Agency confirmed that officers from the NCA, and the Metropolitan Police were also assisting in efforts to find her.
“The National Crime Agency, the Met Police and An Garda Síochana are working together to help and support the Malaysian authorities relating to Nora Quoirin’s disappearance.
“Along with partner agencies, the NCA have deployed an officer to Malaysia to provide any assistance if requested by the Royal Malaysian Police and to support the family if required,” they said.
Malaysian authorities yesterday established a hotline which anyone with information can use to contact police.
It is still being treated as a missing person case but authorities in the Southeast Asian country say they are not ruling out other possibilities.
Local help
Today, a handful of traditional shamans – known locally as “bomoh” – appeared to go into a trance in the jungle as they conducted rituals to help locate her.
The search has now expanded to include the slopes of a nearby mountain, the deputy police chief of Negeri Sembilan state said.
“We will continue the search for Nora. We are committed to finding her,” he told reporters.
Today, her family offered a reward of 50,000 Malaysian Ringgit (around €10,633) for information leading to the return of their daughter.
In a new statement today Nora’s family said they received a donation of 50,000 MYR from an anonymous Belfast-based business for information that directly helps them to find the girl.
“Nora is our first child. She has been vulnerable since the day she was born,” the family said.
“She is so precious to us and our hearts are breaking.
“We are appealing to anyone who has information about Nora to help us find her.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the police hotline on 01112285058 or email the Lucie Blackman Trust on ops@btrust.org.
With reporting by - © AFP 2019
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