The group of hikers who discovered Nora Quoirin’s body on Tuesday said they found her in a pose that resembled a person asleep.
Sharing the traumatic discovery, one of the hikers told UK tabloid The Daily Mail that they spotted the Irish teen beside a stream with her head on her hands.
“It looked like she was sleeping, but we all knew she was dead,” he was quoted as saying, adding that two women in his group broke into tears upon seeing Quoirin.
“We did not approach but stood about 15 metres away and our team leader called the police. I could see the body.”
According to the police previously, the hiking team notified the official search-and-rescue operations at 1.57pm on Tuesday, with authorities reaching the site around 30 minutes later.
The body was removed using a helicopter and later confirmed to be that of Quorin who went missing from The Dusun resort near Seremban on August 4.
An autopsy was conducted at the Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital in Seremban yesterday but the results have yet to be released.
While the police previously declined to comment on the condition of the body, Yeap told the UK outlet that Quoirin appeared unharmed.
“There were some scratches on her arm and some bruises but otherwise there were no injuries,” he said.
No elements of foul play have yet emerged in the tragedy but French authorities have pre-emptively opened a criminal investigation into her case for kidnapping; Quoirin is of Irish-French descent as her father is from France.
Yesterday, the Quoirins’ lawyer here, Sankara N Nair, said it was the attorney general’s prerogative to order an inquest into her death but noted that sudden death cases typically result in one.
He also welcomed the French investigation and expressed hope that Malaysian police would assist in this.
Quoirin, a 15-year-old with special needs, had gone missing from the resort where her family had been residing for their holiday here.
This triggered a massive SAR operation involving hundreds of personnel from the police, Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence Force, People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela), General Operations Force, and the Federal Reserve Unit.
The teen’s body was discovered Tuesday just 2km from the resort, in an area that police said was previously covered by searchers. – MMO
Earlier reports:
Aug 15, Nora Quoirin Autopsy Finds No Signs of Rape, Violence
Aug 14, Nora’s Autopsy Not Yet Completed, to Continue Tomorrow
Aug 14, Autopsy Report Not Out, Don’t Blame Orang Asli, Warn Police
Aug 14, Nora Autopsy to Be Completed at 8pm Today
Aug 14, Friends Who Found Nora Say They Were Afraid to Approach the Body
Aug 14, Nora’s Family Wants Criminal Angle Considered, A-G to Decide on Need for Inquest
Aug 14, Heartbroken Nora’s Family Will Always Love Her, Thank Everyone for Love, Support
Aug 14, Police Return to Ravine Where Nora’s Body Was Found
Aug 14, Pathologists from KL Conduct Autopsy on Nora Quoirin’s Body
Aug 14, Residents Express Sadness, Sympathy over Discovery of Nora’s Body
Aug 13, Parents Confirm Body Is Nora
Aug 13, Cops Say ‘Very Certain’ Body Found Nude in Jungle Is Missing Irish Teen
Aug 13, Helicopter to Retrieve Body Found in Swamp Believed to Be of Missing Irish Teen
Aug 13, Body Found in Hunt for Missing Irish Teen, Parents Brought to Scene
Aug 13, Search for Nora Enters 10th Day
Aug 13, Quoirin Family Offers RM50K Reward for Info on Nora
Aug 13, Police from England, France, Ireland Help in Probe into Missing Teen Case
Aug 11, SAR for Nora: Ops Team Gets Time Off for Aidiladha Prayers
Aug 10, SAR for Missing Irish Teen: Wet Weather Proves a Challenge for Search Teams
Aug 10, Nora Extremely Excited About Holiday in Malaysia
Aug 9, Missing Irish Teen: CID Team Checks Phone Logs, Email Exchanges Made from Resort
Aug 9, Footprints Believed to Be That of Nora’s Found
Aug 8, Police: Only Exit Used in Missing Irish Teen Case Was Glass Window
Aug 8, Police to Use Mum’s Voice to Draw out Missing Irish Teen in Day 5 of SAR
Aug 8, Quoirin Family Incensed at Media’s Overture
Aug 8, Crowdfund for Missing Irish Teen Hits £50,000 Target
Aug 7, Police Insist Missing Irish Teen Still in Jungle, but Orang Asli Community Claim Otherwise
Aug 7, Family Insists Irish Teen Was Taken
Aug 7, Search and Rescue for Irish Teen Extended to Surrounding Hills and Creeks
Aug 7, Stepping Up Searching for MissingIrish Teen
Aug 6, Search for Missing Irish Teen GoesDown to River
Aug 5, Negeri Sembilan Police in StatewideSearch for Missing 15-Year-Old Special Needs Irish Girl