Sniffer dogs tracked missing Nora Quoirin to an abandoned fishing hut

Malaysian sniffer dogs tracked missing British girl Nora Quoirin’s scent to an abandoned fishing hut – but found no scent at the villa window she is thought to have climbed through, her inquest heard. 

Nora vanished from the Dusun rainforest resort, around 45 miles from Kuala Lumpur, where she had been staying with her parents and siblings on August 3 last year.

A huge rescue operation was launched involving more than 350 searchers, including volunteers, sniffer dogs and a shaman before she was found dead ten days later

Police bosses have insisted that there is no evidence of an abduction, and it is believed the 15-year-old simply wandered off. 

Nora survived for six days before dying of starvation and stress in the jungle, and was found lying half in a stream at the bottom of a rocky slope by hikers on day ten of a search, it is said. 

The inquest into her death has now heard that dogs discovered her scent on the other side of a small picket fence at the rainforest eco resort, where she had been staying with her family, the Mirror reported.  

The dog led for nearly a mile to a hut used to rest by fishermen. A cadaver dog did not pick up any scent at the hut, implying that Nora was alive when she was there. 

Fadzil bin Arshad, the Fire and Rescue Department search operations supervisor, said that they had arrived at the Dusun eco-resort on August 5 to help with the search. 

He said: ‘We had two canine tracker handlers and a Labrador and a Border Collie to lead our efforts.’

Following a briefing, they went to the villa and were given part of one of Nora’s tops by the missing girl’s mother.  

‘Once having exited via the window, the child could have turned right which leads to a slope and make walking difficult,’ the supervisor said.

‘The other two options – left or proceed straight seemed most probable.’

Officers searched the surrounding area, and a scent was picked up which continued along until an empty shack close to a fish pond – where the trail was lost, he said. 

It comes after the inquest heard that Nora had not been sexually assaulted before her death. 

A sexual assault was ruled out by a forensic expert, with a post-mortem ruling the 15-year-old had died from internal bleeding in her intestine, through stress and starvation.

Noor Aidora Saedon, head of forensics, told the coroner the schoolgirl had died four days before her body was discovered by hikers. 

An autopsy took place less than an hour after her body was airlifted from the water, the inquest heard. 

Last week, the court was told how the girl was approached by a stranger at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Father Sebastien had left Nora, who had learning difficulties, with her two younger siblings – aged 12 and eight – for less then five minutes while he went to meet his wife, Meabh, who was flying in separately, at the arrival gate.

A female police office told the inquest that as Sebastien walked away, despite only taking around 30 steps, the siblings were approached by an unknown male.

Police believe Nora simply wandered off and that there is no ‘criminal element’ involved.

Officers say she was able to leave the resort by herself by getting out of a window which had a faulty latch. 

DNA analysis established no evidence of penetration prior to her death.  

The hearing continues.