SEREMBAN: 2019 saw a horrific episode in Negri Sembilan after a special needs Irish girl Nora Anne Quoirin, who went missing from Dusun Pantai Hill Resort here on Aug 4, was found dead 10 days later.
What made it even more heartbreaking, post-mortem results revealed that her death was caused by gastrointestinal bleeding due to prolonged stress and having gone without food for a long time.
Nora Anne, 15, was reported missing a day after she and her family checked in at the eco-resort for a two-week vacation, and her body was found nearby a stream some 2.5 km away from the villa where she and her family were staying by a group of volunteers who joined the search and rescue (SAR) mission.
The case received widespread coverage from the local and international media which saw their representatives operating near the search area from the day the teenager was reported missing.
The search for the teenager who had a learning disability had involved various parties, including the Very Able Trooper (VAT) 69 squad, the Senoi Praaq, police dog unit (K9 unit), Fire and Rescue Department, Forestry Department, Malaysia Civil Defence Force, Federal Reserve Unit (FRU), Sapura, 4th Battalion General Operations Force, Orang Asli and volunteer hikers.
The operation also saw the deployment of helicopters and drones equipped with infra-red radars. The SAR team also played the recording of her mother’s voice over loudspeakers — “Nora darling, Nora I love you. Mum is here” as a strategy to lure her out of the thick forest.
During the course of the SAR mission, police recorded statements from 20 individuals, including her family members to assist in the investigation. The authority also arrested a 29-year-old Twitter user over a claim that the girl was raped by Orang Asli.
Initially, Nora Anne’s parents, Sebastien Marie Philipe and Meabh Jaseprine Quoirin believed that their daughter had been abducted, however, the police classified it as a missing person case as there was no evidence supporting the claim.
In a desperate effort to get back their daughter, her parents offered a reward of RM50,000 for information that could lead to the discovery of Nora Anne.
A day after that, a body was found by trackers near Gunung Berembun and her family members confirmed the identity of the body to be that of Nora Anne.
Pathologists from Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital here and Kuala Lumpur Hospital took nearly 10 hours to conduct a post-mortem on the body.
Her remains were by the family and repatriated to London at 12.42am on Aug 17 after the documentation process was completed.
Nora Anne’s case touched the hearts of Malaysians and people around the world who expressed their gratitude and admiration over the valiant effort by the Malaysian SAR team who went through tough challenges searching for the teenager in the thick vegetation of the Malaysian rainforest.
The case also attracted the attention of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah who expressed sadness over the passing of Nora Anne as they offered condolences to her family.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail also personally offered condolences to the family.
The Dusun Pantai Hill Resort, located 16 km away from the town of Seremban, is a private nature resort. It began as a durian orchard before being planted with a variety of trees and developed into a resort.
It opened to the public in 2009 with two houses or and chalets. — Bernama
