MALAYSIAN doctors conducted an autopsy yesterday to determine the cause of death of a 15-year-old London teen whose naked body was found nine days after she mysteriously disappeared from a nature resort. Nora Anne Quoirin’s body was discovered Tuesday beside a small stream about 2.5 kilometers from the Dusun eco-resort in southern Negeri Sembilan state, where she went missing Aug. 4. The body was airlifted to a hospital, where she was identified by her parents. Her family thanked the rescue team of more than 350 people who helped search for the girl, who had learning and physical disabilities. Police said a medical team including a senior pathologist from Kuala Lumpur conducted a post-mortem yesterday to find out how she died. Local media reported that a forensic team also went back to the area where the body was found to comb for evidence. Police didn’t say how long the body had been there or why rescuers apparently missed it earlier in the search operation. Police from Ireland, France and the U.K. are in Malaysia to assist in the investigation. The girl’s mother is from Ireland and her father is French, but the family has lived in London for 20 years. The Paris prosecutor’s office said yesterday that it has opened a preliminary investigation into the girl’s death, on potential charges of kidnapping and sequestration. French authorities often open such investigations when French citizens are victims or otherwise involved in suspected crimes abroad. Quoirin’s family arrived Aug. 3 for a two-week stay at Dusun, a small resort next to a forest reserve 63 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur. Police believe the teen climbed out through a window in the living room of the family’s resort cottage. They listed her as a missing person but said the investigation included possible criminal aspects. (SD-Agencies) |