Who is Nora?
Nora Anne Quoirin is 15-years-old, 5ft 1” tall, of slight build, with shoulder-length wavy dark blonde hair and blue eyes. She is of Irish-French descent and was travelling on an Irish passport. Nora was born with holoprosencephaly and has limited balance and co-ordination. She enjoys walks with her family though has difficulty doing so. She is not independent in that she cannot manage buttons and struggles to wash her hair. At her school, she is in the process of learning to ride a bicycle (
Lucie Blackman Trust, 9 Aug 2019).
What is The Dusun?
The Dusun is described as being a small nature resort with several houses located throughout their land
(The Dusun). Nora and her family were residing at Sora House
(Malay Mail, 10 Aug 2019). Sora House contains 1 bedroom with a double bed, 1 loft with a double and a single bed and 2 toilets.
What happened prior to her disappearance?
Nora was on holiday with her family at The Dusun resort in Malaysia, 39 miles south of Kuala Lumpur. The family travelled to Kuala Lumpur airport on 3rd August 2019. Nora, Sister (aged 12) and Brother (aged 8) travelled from London with their father Sebastian meanwhile Meabh travelled in from Singapore after visiting Sydney.
(The Mirror, 9 Aug 2019). They arrived within 30 minutes of each other. It is unknown what time they arrived and/or not been reported in the media. They took a taxi from the airport to the resort
(The Times, 10 Aug 2019). According to a Dutch tourist, C, the family arrived later in the evening. They played outside for a while before retiring to bed early, at 10 pm. C. also reports hearing rustling noises on the evening of Nora’s disappearance at the pool close to Sora House
(AD Netherlands News, 9 Aug 2019).The family report going to bed on Saturday night just a few hours after checking in
(The Mirror, 7 Aug 2019).
Children's age source:
(The Daily Mail, 9 Aug 2019) (I am referring to them as Sister and Brother for their privacy as they are minors).
Who slept where on the night of 3 August 2019?
There has been confusion with regards to the sleeping arrangements at Sora House.
The Mirror, 7 Aug 2019 report that Nora stayed in the upstairs [loft] bedroom next to her sister and brother. The parents, then, would have slept in the downstairs bedroom. The confusion seems to have arisen after communications from deputy police chief Che Zakaria Othman reporting that it was
the window in the living hall downstairs that was left open, and not the one in the bedroom upstairs where the girl was. It was then stated her siblings were sleeping in ‘another room’ upstairs
(The Sun, 7 Aug 2019).
What entrances/exits are there to the house?
There was an open window in the living room/kitchen area of the Sora apartment
(The Daily Mail, 9 Aug 2019). Police officers, according to The Daily Mail, are certain “only the glass window exit was used.” Fingerprints were discovered and have been sent for examination
(ITV News, 7 Aug 2019). Pictures of Sora House can be seen on the Dusuns website, throughout this thread or in some of the links throughout this to get a clearer idea of what entrances/exits there are other than the window. Police are trying to ascertain whether the window was closed/locked from inside the night of Nora’s disappearance, as the window could be opened from the outside if it were unlocked
(Malay Mail, 11 Aug 2019).
What happened the morning Nora was discovered to have disappeared?
Sebastian states that he discovered Nora was missing on Sunday, 4 August at around 8am
(The Guardian, 9 Aug 2019). Additionally, the Dutch tourist C claims that the next morning panic hit the resort. An old lady asked to look in C’s apartment to check whether Nora could be in the home. C alleges that 3 hours later the authorities still hadn’t arrived, causing Sebastian to be angry. The owner of the resort told him to go to the police station, otherwise, they wouldn’t come. C also states they [the tourists] searched for a while.
(AD Netherlands News, 9 Aug 2019). It is believed Nora may be wearing her undergarments as that is what she fell asleep in (
The Sun, 6 Aug 2019).
Where has been searched?
Over the course of the search for Nora, approximately 261 SAR personnel have been involved in the search. Tools used have included tracker dogs, drones equipped with thermal imaging camera and a voice recording of Nora’s mother asking her to come out towards the search party in case she is hiding from fear
(Malay Mail, 11 Aug 2019). Locations search have included the resort area, the river and a 6km radius of the hotel into the jungle
(The Independent, 9 Aug 2019). As the search has progressed, over 300+ personnel have been involved in the search and the area reduced to a 4km radius
(The Irish Times, 11 Aug 2019).
Are the police investigating a potential abduction?
Yes, although it is not their primary focus, however, they are accepting information from all angles while continuing their search. They say there is no evidence to indicate Nora has been abducted
(Sky News, 11 Aug 2019). Bukit Aman – the county’s equivalent to the FBI – have run background checks on all known paedophiles and criminals in the area. Additionally, police have searched the homes of staff working at The Dusun and questioned the taxi driver who dropped them off at the resort
(The Daily Mail, 11 Aug 2019).
Is there any evidence?
Police Deputy Commissioner Datuk Mohamad Mat Yusop has said as of 11 August that they have “no credible leads on where she is but we will continue the search”
(Sky News, 11 Aug 2019). As stated above, they say there is no evidence that points to Nora having been abducted. Fingerprints were discovered on a window that was open in the downstairs living room however there has been no announcement so far on the results
(The Irish Times, 11 Aug 2019). Sniffer dogs tracking Nora picked up her scent within 4,000ft of the resort however there is no trace of her beyond that range
(The Sun, 6 Aug 2019). Footprints were discovered by the Fire and Rescue Department’s sniffer dogs that are believed to belong to Nora (
The Independent, 9 Aug 2019).
Have there been any sightings?
An eyewitness recounts seeing a white woman swimming ‘in a river not far away’ on the Sunday following her disappearance
(The Sun, 6 Aug 2019).**
Misc helpful links:
Map of the Dusun from their website
Thanks to
@Lyndaloo for noticing errors the first time round
**The police are unsure if this account is accurate and in my opinion – and jmo! – from the description we now have of Nora’s disabilities, I don’t think she would be able to swim without someone there to aid her.
