This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The family of missing Nora Quoirin have said she “is not independent and does not go anywhere alone”, as the search to find the vulnerable 15-year-old continued.

Nora, who has learning and developmental disabilities, disappeared six days ago from an eco-resort in Malaysia where she was on holiday with her parents.

Drones and helicopters have been deployed to search the dense forest in southern Negeri Sembilan state. A recording of her mother’s voice is also being played over loudspeakers in an attempt to find the teenager.

In a statement, her family, who believe Nora was abducted, said she was “not like other teenagers”.

They added: “Her verbal communication is limited. She is unable to do maths and so things like money are impossible to manage.

“She cannot make or receive phone calls independently. She can wash and dress herself, though she cannot manage buttons, and struggles to wash her hair.”

The deputy police chief, Che Zakaria Othman, said the situation was a missing person case and there was “no proof” Nora had been abducted, despite police checking emails for evidence of abduction and liaising with the country’s immigration department.

He added that there were “no tracks of her for now, and no leads that can be used. No footprints were found either.”

Play Video 0:17 ‘Nora darling, mummy’s here’: Police search for missing girl using mother's voice recording - video

Nora’s parents are an Irish-French couple who live in London and have two younger children. Her father, Sebastien, said he discovered his daughter missing on Sunday at around 8am.

Nora was born with holoprosencephaly, an abnormality in brain development which means the brain does not divide into the right and left hemispheres.

The family’s statement added that Nora had travelled with them to Asia and many other European countries before “and has never wandered off or got lost.

“Every night, her special time is for cuddles and a night-time story with her mum. And she was extremely excited about the family holiday in Malaysia.

“Nora is very sensitive. Outside the family, Nora is very shy and can be quite anxious.”

The police chief, Datuk Mohamad Mat Yusop, told Malaysian news publication the Star that Nora was believed to have climbed out of the window of her resort room.

“An able-bodied or normal person would be weak by the fifth day, and that is why we need to find the victim as soon as possible,” he said on Thursday.

Police have refused to rule out a “criminal element” in the case. The state’s fire and rescue department director, Ahmad Mukhlis Mokhtar, said he remained optimistic that Nora could be found soon.

The force are analysing fingerprints found in a cottage at the resort.