Missing Irish teen Nora Anne found dead, naked in Malaysian jungle

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Sebastien Philipe and Meabh Quoirin, parents of 15-year-old Irish girl Nora Anne Quoirin who went missing, speak during a news conference in Seremban, Malaysia, on Aug 12, 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian police on Tuesday (Aug 13) found the body of an Irish teenager who went missing on Aug 4 from a rainforest resort in Negeri Sembilan where she was holidaying with her family.

Negri Sembilan police chief Mohamad Mat Yusop told reporters that the parents had positively identified the remains of their daughter at the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital mortuary in Seremban.

The naked body of 15-year-old Nora Anne Quoirin was found at 1.57pm in a hilly area of the jungle in Seremban, just 2km away from the Dusun eco-resort where the family was staying, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Mazlan Mansor told a news conference earlier.

The body was flown by helicopter to the hospital where the family identified it.

The Lucie Blackman Trust, a foundation supporting families of British citizens who are missing or killed abroad, said it "can confirm with great sadness that the body found today is that of missing teenager Nora Quoirin. Local police have confirmed identification".

Earlier, a search-and-rescue team found human remains near Mount Berembun in Pantai Hills. Police had said that the body was that of a white female.

Datuk Mohamad said the search-and-rescue team received a call from the public around 1pm and a team was immediately sent to the area near a waterfall.

Nora and her family, who arrived in Malaysia from London on Aug 3 for a two-week holiday, checked into the Dusun. The next day on Aug 4, at 8am, they discovered that Nora was missing from the bedroom that she shared with her two siblings Innes Julia and Maurice Arthure.

A body believed to be 15-year-old Irish girl Nora Anne Quoirin who went missing is brought out of a helicopter in Seremban, Malaysia, Aug 13, 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS

A window in the room, which could be opened only from the inside, was open.

Nora, who holds an Irish passport, had learning difficulties. Nora's father Sebastien Marie Philipe is French and her mother Meabh Quoirin, Irish.

A sniffer dog with its handler during a search-and-rescue operation for the missing 15-year-old Irish girl Nora Anne Quoirin. PHOTO: REUTERS

A reward of RM50,000 (S$16,500) was offered on Monday for information leading to her return.

Police officers from England, France and Ireland are also helping Malaysian police in the investigation into Nora's disappearance, but they were not involved in the search-and-rescue operation, Malaysia's national news agency Bernama reported on Monday.

Police lines at the entrance of a road during the search-and-rescue operation for 15-year-old Nora Quoirin in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia on Aug 13, 2019. PHOTO: EPA

Besides police officers, others involved in the search operation were personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence Force, Rela, the Orang Asli from the Senoi Praaq unit as well as the local Orang Asli community and villagers.

In addition to Mount Berembun, the authorities also combed the nearby river Sungai Berembun and surrounding villages in the dense forest.

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