VILLAGERS at the Jeram Toi rainforest near Seremban in Negri Sembilan are incensed that the authorities are not allowing them to help in the search for missing Irish teenager Nora Quoirin.

They told The Malaysian Insight that this was their forest, and they should know better how to locate the teenager.

Villager Mohamad Nordin said Quoirin, 15, is not far from the resort where she was last seen.

“She is not far, she is around the area. We know that, and some of the locals here can help bring back the girl,” said the 71 year-old-man.

Another local, who only wanted to be identified as Pak Mat, agreed with Mohamad and both men rubbished claims by the British media that the teenager could have been abducted.

“She was not abducted, nor did she walk out of the resort by her own. She was taken away by some spirits.

“Those who believe she was abducted are fools. There is no way she could have been abducted. She could not have walked out of the resort alone without being spotted by locals.

“If they ask us to help, we will be able to bring her back. We just need to ‘negotiate’ with some ‘people’ who have been staying in the jungle for a very long time. But we are not allowed to, so we will just sit and watch,” Pak Mat told The Malaysian Insight.

Both men appeared angry that rescuers from the police General Operations Force, Fire and Rescue Department and other agencies would not allow locals to join the search.

Asked if a similar incident had happened before, Pak Mat said the last time a person went missing was 40 years ago, adding he does not know what happened to that man.

But he said villagers are pretty sure Quoirin is not far from here.

The search for Quoirin entered its third day today with still no clues on the whereabouts of the teenager. 

Negri Sembilan police are expected to update the media later today.

Yesterday, police ruled out abduction and said the case was still being treated as a missing person.

Quoirin arrived in Malaysia with her family on Saturday for a two-week trip.

The family of five, checked into The Dusun Seremban, 69km south of Kuala Lumpur, at 7am on Saturday. Police received a missing persons report at 11am the next day.

The family is believed to be still in the resort which has been turned into an operations centre. No one is allowed in.

Posters of the missing girl have gone viral in social media, with appeals for information on her whereabouts.

This case is closely monitored by The Lucie Blackman Trust, an organisation formed in 2000 to support British nationals in crisis overseas. 

Those with information on Quoirin can call +44-8000-988-485 or email [email protected]. – August 6, 2019.