MISSING 15-year-old Nora Quoirin has difficulties walking, her family said tonight, as police maintain there is no evidence the British teenager was abducted from a forest resort in Negri Sembilan six days ago.

Her mother, Meabh, who is Irish, and father, Sebastien, from France, described their daughter’s physical and learning challenges as the result of holoprosencephaly, a condition present at birth that causes infant to be born with a smaller brain.

“Nora likes to walk with her family, but her balance is limited and she struggles with coordination.

“She can read like a young child, but she cannot write more than a few words. She has a good memory but she cannot understand anything conceptual. She is unable to do Maths and so, things like money are impossible to manage. 

“She cannot make or receive phone calls independently. She can wash and dress herself, though she cannot manage buttons, and struggles to wash her hair,” read the statement, which was released on the Twitter account of the Lucie Blackman Trust, a UK charity that assists families of British victims abroad.

STATEMENT FROM FAMILY OF #missing NORA QUOIRIN - 9TH AUGUST 2019 #findnoraquoirin pic.twitter.com/QCeQKnBSeS

— Lucie Blackman Trust (@MissingAbroad) August 9, 2019

Nora’s parents have argued since their daughter’s disappearance from their rented villa in The Dusun eco resort last Sunday that she was abducted.

Police, however, said that although they were looking at all possibilities, they had not found any evidence to the family’s claim.

Search efforts are now under way in the Jeram Toi rainforest, next to Gunung Berembun.

Nora’s parents said that Nora had travelled with the family to Asia and many European countries but had never wandered off on her own or got lost.

They described Nora as a special child who is fun, funny and extremely loving, but very dependent on her family.

“She is not like other teenagers. She is not independent and does not go anywhere alone.

“Nora was born with holoprosencephaly; this means that she has a smaller brain. All her life, she has spent a lot of time in hospital.

“When she was born, she needed operations to help her breathing. She has specialists that monitor her growth, her physical abilities and her strength, and especially her mental capacity,” the statement said.

They added Nora always needed dedicated specialist educational provisions, and now attends a school for children and young people with learning and communication difficulties.

However, Nora, who is bilingual and speaks French and English, has limited verbal communication skills, her parents said.

She was also described as a shy person who could get quite anxious.

“Every night, her special time is for cuddles and a night-time story with her mum. And, she was extremely excited about the family holiday in Malaysia.” 

In the statement, the family also thanked the police for their efforts in the search for their daughter.

“Some of these people have been working all day, every day, and the family cannot express their gratitude enough.”

The Quoirins arrived in Malaysia on August 3 for a two-week holiday.

Nora’s father discovered she was missing on Sunday morning from the room she was sharing with her two younger siblings.

Police have taken fingerprints from a window that can only be opened from the inside but have not revealed any details to the public.

Search efforts as of today have roped in elite commandos from the VAT 69 division, employed the use of a drone equipped with thermal sensors and a recording of Meabh’s voice calling out to her daughter. – August 9, 2019.