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LAST UPDATE | 9 Aug 2019
A GARDA LIAISON Officer has been deployed to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to assist with the case of Nóra Quoirin, a teenage Irish citizen who went missing from a Malaysian resort six days ago.
Nóra, who has special needs, went missing while on a family holiday in the resort of Dusun in Seremban, a short distance from the capital Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
She is the daughter of an Irish-French couple who have been living in London for around 20 years. Her family say they believe she was abducted, but police have classified it as a missing person case.
A search team of over 250 people, backed by helicopters, drones and sniffer dogs, have been hunting through dense jungle next to the site in southwestern Malaysia but have not found any trace of the teenager.
An Garda Síochána has now deployed a Garda Liaison Officer to Kuala Lumpur to assist the Department of Foreign Affairs, who are currently providing consular assistance to the Quoirin family.
The Garda Liaison Officer will liaise as required with the Malaysian Police, UK and French authorities to assist in the search for Nóra.
In a statement today, Nóra’s family said that she “isn’t independent and does not go anywhere anyone”.
Nóra is a very special person. She is fun, funny and extremely loving. With her family, she is very affectionate – family is her whole world and she loves to play games, like Cat Bingo, with us.
She likes to tell us silly jokes and wear clever, colourful t-shirts. She is not like other teenagers. She is not independent and does not go anywhere alone.
Lucie Blackman Trust / TwitterSTATEMENT FROM FAMILY OF #missing NORA QUOIRIN - 9TH AUGUST 2019 #findnoraquoirin pic.twitter.com/QCeQKnBSeS
— LBT Global (@LBT_Global) August 9, 2019
The family said that Nóra was born with Holoprosencephaly – this means that she has a smaller brain.
Throughout her childhood, she spent a lot of time in hospital and has always needed dedicated specialist educational provision. She attends a school for children and young people with learning and communication difficulties, the family said.
They continued:
Nóra is very sensitive. Outside the family, Nóra is very shy and can be quite anxious. Every night, her special time is for cuddles and a nighttime story with her mum. And she was extremely excited about the family holiday in Malaysia.
The family said Nóra has been to Asia and many European countries before and has never wandered off or got lost.
Nóra’s aunt, Éadaoin Agnew, read out the statement on RTÉ Radio One’s Drivetime this evening, which can be heard here:
https://soundcloud.com/rte-radio-1/drivetime-eadaoin-agnew
Search for Nóra
Today, hundreds of Muslims held a special prayer session in Malaysia for Nóra.
Some 300 people, many wearing Muslim prayer caps, knelt in prayer during the session dedicated to the teen in the afternoon at a mosque in a nearby town.
“What we’re doing today is to help our friends in the search effort,” said Mohamad Taufek Awaludin, who led the session.
Several police officers and firefighters were among the group. Over two-thirds of Malaysia’s 32 million inhabitants are Muslim.
Police have questioned around 20 people and are examining fingerprints found on a window pane.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ireland confirmed it is “aware of the case and is providing consular assistance”.
- with reporting from Hayley Halpin and © AFP 2019
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A serous post from me for a change. Last weekend my sister had to douse a girl who’s hair had caught fire in a pub. she lost quite a bit of hair but it could’ve been so much worse. I know candles create a nice cosy and intimate atmosphere but publicans and night club owners really need to think about where they put them, especially if they are expecting a large crowd.
well done to your sister! and i wish the man a speedy recovery.
Not always candles, there is always the “funny person” who decides to get his lighter out of the pocket for fun without realising how far their actions can go! There were no candles in that nightclub
there’s a pub in dun laoghaire that bizarrely leaves candles lined up on the stairs to the toilets
Fed up of Halloween here in Sligo last night the thugs were out in force terror inflicted on normal citizens.
Touch any of them any you would face a lawsuit.
I wish to god Halloween could be cancelled.
Interesting choice of words there Shamy. Elaborating upon that train of thought.. maybe next year you could get dressed up as well. I know where you can get a good deal on a Jimmy Savile costume. That’ll learn ‘em!
Apparantly he was set alight as opposed just catching fire.
Eh, you essentially still did post it. And it was a crap forced pun anyway, so you must be pretty embarrassed right now.
Even the trick or treaters last night were a nightmare even with their parents they were kicking the door, demanding more sweets, no cheap sweets and then swearing. These are the future thugs of Halloween
I know what I’d be giving to anyone who had the balls to kick my front door.
If the do that open the door abd trough a bucket of water on them, trust me! They will never bother u again lol
does any one know if the fire retardant regulations that apply to clothes, apply to costumes here.
A man around the corner from us died yesterday. He fell down the stairs while trying to get a “Tigger” costume off. He apparently tripped over the tail at the top of the stairs. This all happened in front of his poor wife. RIP
R.I.P. very sad
Halloween was fine until a couple of young men decided to set off fireworks after 10 pm near our house. They’d walk to a nearby street and do same. They came back about 1 hour later for more. I’m sorry to hear people got hurt and even killed yesterday. My heart goes out to their families.
You’re right Sean. My bad. Delete first part of my comment.
baseball bat is a nice instrument
have your say