Missing: Nora QuoirinOver 260 people are now part of the search for the 15 year old.
Footprints believed to belong to missing Irish schoolgirl Nora Quoirin have been discovered in the Malaysian forest, reports Indpendent.ie.
The 15-year-old, whose mother is from Belfast, was reported missing from a holiday resort in the southern Negeri Semblian State of Malaysia on Sunday morning.
Dogs from the K9 Unit of the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department picked up the footprints in a densely-forested search area spanning 6km around the resort.
Ahmad Mukhlis Mokhtar of the Fire and Rescue Department revealed the latest developments in the search at a press conference on Friday.
He said the department is optimistic that Nora, who has special needs and has been described as "very vulnerable", is within the radius of the forest.
“We are assisting the police in the search by deploying our K9 Unit, as well as 55 personnel, which include 30 from Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya," he said.
“The search area remains within 6km of the resort, and our focus is on the forest. Each agency involved is divided into six groups.
“Previously, our detective canines had spotted footprints, but when we conducted a search there, we couldn’t find her."
Checking records.
Meanwhile Malaysian police say they're checking the phone and email records of staff at the resort from which an Irish teenager went missing.
Her family maintain that she has been abducted, but Malaysian police are still treating it as a missing persons case.
Over 260 people are now part of the search for the 15 year old.
