Sniffer dogs found no scent of missing Nora Quoirin on window she 'climbed out of'

Sniffer dogs in Malaysia tracked missing British girl Nora Quoirin's scent to an abandoned fishing hut near a pond.

But the detection dogs failed to pick up a scent at the villa window where police believe she climbed out of in August last year.

Officers have told the inquest how Nora survived six days before dying of starvation and stress in the jungle.

She was found by hikers on day ten of the search, lying dead and half in a stream at the bottom of a rocky slope.

Senior police bosses insist there was no evidence that Nora was abducted and believe she just wandered off.

This morning the inquest heard dogs picked up her scent on the other side of a small picket fence at the rainforest eco resort where Nora and her family were staying.

It led for almost a mile to a dilapidated hut, where anglers used to rest.

A cadaver dog was also used at the hut but failed to pick up any scent, suggesting she was alive when she reached the hut.

The Fire and Rescue Department search operations supervisor, Fadzil bin Arshad, told The Coroner's Inquest they arrived at The Dusun eco-resort on August 5th to help look for the missing 15 year old.

"We had two canine tracker handlers and a Labrador and a Border Collie to lead our efforts,” he said.

After a briefing they were accompanied to the villa where the girl and her family had been booked into for their week-long stay.

They were given a piece of material, by Nora's mum which belonged to one of her daughter's tops.

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

"The other two options - left or proceed straight seemed most probable," he explained.

He said the canine trackers were given the material to smell and the dogs seemed to be going in circles, returning to the window.

So officers then decided to search the surrounding vicinity at random.

"At the rear section fence, a scent was detected and this trail continued until an abandoned shack near a fish pond,” he sad.

"The trail was lost at the fish pond," Fadzil said.

He was asked by Nora's parents' lawyer how high the fence was and told about waist high.

The fence was less than 100 metres from the villa window.

Earlier in the inquest the property owner said a section of the fence had been brought down and needed repairing.

The officer said that between the window and fence at the rear of the villa, the dogs failed to pick up any scent.

"It was only after one went across the fence, did they detect a trail,” he said.

Fadzil told the inquest his team were involved in the search operations for four days and apart from the fisherman's hut there were no other positive findings during the preliminary search.

“We not only covered the grounds of The Dusun (resort) but also went beyond to the nearby vicinity," Fadzil said.

Asked about inaccessibility and terrain conditions, Fadzil said the trackers were led by a long leash and the dogs would proceed ahead as trackers kept up with them.

Nora and her family landed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang on Aug 3rd.

After she was reported missing, teams went into the jungle with a taped recording of her mum Meabh's voice saying: “Nora darling, Nora, Nora, mummy here”.

The inquest heard that the window where they were staying was due to be fixed as it had a faulty latch.

Her parents have been unable to attend the inquest because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Nora was born with the neurological disorder holoprosencephaly, which affects brain development and her family say she was 'vulnerable'.

Her naked body was found on August 10th on its side. Pathologists also concluded she had not been physically or sexually assaulted.

The coroner Maimoonah Aid has said the inquest aimed to determine what led to Nora's death and “whether there is any person who was criminally concerned in the cause of her death.”