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Police searching for a schoolgirl who vanished from a Malaysian jungle resort are analysing fingerprints lifted from her family's holiday cottage.

The prints were found on a window panel in the living room of the house where Nora Quoirin, 15, was staying with her parents and two siblings, the Mirror reports .

Nora's parents believe she was abducted, but police say there is "no evidence" the teen, who has special needs, was snatched from her room at the Dusun resort .

Her disappearance has apparently left search and rescue team members puzzled, with one claiming: "Not even a footprint was left behind."

Police have questioned 20 people and they believe she is still close to the resort about an hour south of Kuala Lumpur and they have not ruled out the possibility of foul play.

Nora's parents say they last saw her when they went to bed on Saturday night, just hours after checking in, and they discovered her missing at 8am on Sunday as their two-week holiday got under way.

(Image: PA)

Her window had been left open and there were claims the main gate was not locked on Saturday night.

The disappearance has sparked a massive search with more than 200 personnel and sniffer dogs involved as it entered its fourth day on Wednesday.

Teams have searched by ground and air - using helicopters and drones - while scouring 12 acres (five hectares) of dense jungle and a river close to the town of Seremban.

But police say they have found no trace of the girl, whose mother Meabh is originally from Belfast , and whose father Sebastien is French.

It is understood that Nora had travelled to Malaysia on an Irish passport.

(Image: PA)

Che Zakaria Othman, the deputy police chief of Negeri Sembilan state, said officers have lifted several fingerprints from the house where the family was staying.

He declined to elaborate, the Malaysian Insight reported.

He said police have interviewed Nora's family and resort staff, and swept the cottage where she was last seen for any forensic evidence such as fingerprints.

He added: "Our forensics team has gone through the entire building and the investigation process is still ongoing.

“She is still in this area. She has not left this place. We are sure of that."

He said it is still classified as a missing persons case, but police are not ruling out any possibilities.

A tracker from the elite General Operations Force said there is no sign that Nora walked out of the resort, a 12-acre tropical rainforest retreat in the foothills of the Titiwanga mountains.

The tracker said it is pitch dark at night and it would be very unlikely that someone could walk away without leaving a trace behind.

He told the Malaysian Insight: “The terrain is uneven and one is bound to lose his footing and fall, which would leave a trace.

“What puzzles us is that the girl did not leave any trace. It was as though she walked on a normal street. Not even a footprint was left behind."

(Image: Getty Images)

Authorities deployed two drones for an aerial search over an area of 2.3 square miles around the resort on Wednesday as more personnel joined the hunt.

A checkpoint has been set up on the road to the secluded resort.

Nora was staying in an upstairs bedroom next to her 12-year-old sister and eight-year-old brother, according to police.

Her family have described her as "vulnerable" because she has learning and developmental disabilities.

Her grandfather Sylvain Quoirin told AFP: “Nora disappeared in extremely mysterious conditions since she was sleeping in the room with her sister and brother.

"In the morning, the window was open and she had disappeared, whereas after an 18-hour flight and a seven-hour time difference you would sleep soundly and not go for a stroll at night.

"Everyone went to bed tired, and in the morning Nora wasn't there."

The family had planned to stay for two weeks, he said, and Nora was "absolutely not" in the habit of running off.

Speaking by phone from Venisy, France, where he is the mayor, Mr Quoirin said: "This is a young girl with a mild handicap who is rather timid, reserved. She is someone very fearful."

(Image: AFP/Getty)

He said he understood that the French ambassador had met high-level Malaysian officials over the case.

He added: "I dare to believe that we are going to find her because enormous means have been put in place.

"Things are being done seriously now."

Police believe she is still close to the resort, but local villagers believe she is no longer in the area.

An Orang Asli indigenous man who joined the search said he knows the forest well - calling it his "playground" - and in two previous cases the people who were missing were found in 24 hours.

The man, named only as Pak, told the Malay Mail: “It is day four now, impossible she is still here. Even if she fainted or anything untoward happened while she is lost... the police canine (K9) unit would have detected her scent.

“Furthermore, we ourselves searched all the difficult areas and showed the search team, the vicinity around the search zone where the terrain is difficult and dangerous."

Another villager claimed the main gate was not locked on Saturday night.

Search and rescue teams are holding out hope for a positive outcome.

In a Facebook post, the resort's management said employees were "extremely distressed and worried" about Nora's disappearance and were assisting in the search.

Local fire chief Mohamad Idris told Bernama there is still a chance of survival if the girl is wandering lost in the jungle.

He said: "Though she has been missing for four days now, there is still a chance of survival as there are water sources close by even if there is no food."

A GoFundMe set up by family to support Nora's parents while they are in Malaysia had raised more than £40,000 by midday on Wednesday.

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