Malaysian divers scour river in hunt for missing teen

Malaysian divers scoured a river Wednesday, joining a large team hunting for a Franco-Irish teenager with learning difficulties who vanished from a rainforest resort.

Nora Quoirin went missing on Sunday morning after checking in with her family to the Dusun Resort, about an hour from the capital Kuala Lumpur.

The 15-year-old lives in London and is the daughter of a Franco-Irish couple.

Her family suspect foul play, but the Malaysian government has stressed police do not believe she was abducted and are calling for an end to speculation about her disappearance.

As the hunt entered a fourth day Wednesday, a small team of divers searched a river running through the forest near the resort, AFP journalists at the scene said.

A helicopter, almost 180 people from various government agencies, and sniffer dogs had already been deployed in the hunt for the girl.

Police have classified her disappearance as a missing person case, but her grandfather, Sylvain Quoirin, told AFP Tuesday that she had gone in "extremely mysterious" circumstances and was not in the habit of running off.

"In the morning, the window was open and she had disappeared," Quoirin said by phone from Venisy, in north-central France where he is the mayor.

"After an 18-hour flight and a seven-hour time difference you would sleep soundly and not go for a stroll at night," he said.

The family had planned to stay for two weeks, he said, and Nora was "absolutely not" in the habit of running off.

"This is a young girl with a mild handicap who is rather timid, reserved. She is someone very fearful."
"Everyone who comes to our country is safe and does not face problems."