Nora Anne Quoirin inquest: Area where body was found searched twice, yet no trace of missing teen detected, witness testifies

SEREMBAN, Oct 20 — Police operatives did not detect any traces of Irish-French teenager Nora Anne Quoirin despite canvassing twice the search area where her body was eventually found days after she went missing, a witness told the Coroner’s Court here today.

Testifying as the 22nd witness at the inquest into Quoirin’s death, General Operations Force (GOF) 4th Battalion operative Inspector Hor Ming Jai said there was no concrete evidence as to her whereabouts within their designated search zone between August 7 and August 8 last year.

Quoirin’s body was eventually discovered on August 13, 2019 by a group of hikers — 10 days after she was reported missing from The Dusun Resort, Negri Sembilan — near a river trail that ran through Hor’s designated search zone.

“Our teams were the first to enter the designated areas and we did not uncover any tracks that could have led us to believe the victim had passed through the area during our search,” he told Coroner Maimoonah Aid.

At the material time, the search-and-rescue (SAR) operation for Quoirin had entered the fourth and fifth day of her disappearance.

Earlier, Hor told the court he had received orders on August 5, 2019 to assemble a platoon to assist in the ongoing SAR operation for the missing girl until asked to stand-down.

Recalling the sequence of events on August 7, Hor said his team had conducted a sweep of the area while focusing their search along streams, citing a person’s instinct to head towards one if they are lost.

“We observed the streams from afar to see if there was any movement among the dense vegetation but chose not venture further as there was no need to at that time since there was no disturbance.

“The river was shallow and the current was not that strong since it had not rained,” he added.

He said their search orders were maintained on August 8, with the teams narrowing further their search operations by walking along the riverbank for a thorough sweep.

However, both days yielded no sign of the missing girl.

When asked further, Hor said there would be footprints or marks left behind if one were to traverse the riverbank since the ground was soft enough to register an imprint.

He also described the jungle as one that was filled with dense vegetation, river trails and steep terrain in certain areas.

Special operatives deployed to traverse hard-to-reach areas

Testifying as the 20th witness, Vat 69 Commando Deputy Superintendent Hamzah Abd Rani told the court the police’s special forces unit was also deployed to assist the SAR operation.

“Our focus was more on areas that are difficult to traverse that required personnel in peak physical condition,” he said.

Hamzah said his team of operatives were ordered to launch their search operation in the vicinity of Gunung Telapak Buruk and the foothills of Bukit Berembun that is located roughly north-east of The Dusun Resort.

He also said due to the difficulty in trekking the thick jungle terrain, his teams spent the night in the jungle from August 10, 2019 until August 13, 2019.

Hamzah also testified he was present when Quoirin’s body was found on August 13, 2019.

“Around 2pm, I was informed by the Negri Sembilan deputy police chief regarding the discovery of the missing person whereby I was then ordered to head towards the scene and confirm said location.

“Upon my arrival, I suggested to Nilai police chief Superintendent Mohd Nor Marzukee Besar that he seek the assistance of the Police Air Unit to airlift the body out as the area was inaccessible to vehicles,” he said.

Testifying as the 21st witness, GOF 3rd Battalion operative Inspector Khairul Marwan Kahar said his team was ordered to conduct their search north of The Dusun Resort among the waist-high overgrowth.

Like Hamzah, Khairul Marwan said his search area also involved traversing dense jungle and river trails.

Testifying as the 23rd witness, GOF 4th Battalion operative Inspector B. Sathia Balan said his team was assigned to a designated search zone south of The Dusun Resort along several river trails for possible signs of Quoirin or her body.

Similar to Hor, all three witnesses told the court that their respective searches did not turn up any clues as to Quoirin’s whereabouts.

Quoirin, a 15-year-old with learning difficulties, disappeared from The Dusun resort last year where she was staying with her London-based family, triggering a 10-day hunt involving helicopters, search dogs and hundreds of searchers.

Her body was discovered close to the jungle retreat and an autopsy found that she probably died of internal bleeding after spending about a week in the dense rainforest.

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