British teen Nora Quoirin missing in Malaysia could be alive and hiding, police say

Nora Quoirin, 15, was reported missing from a resort in Malaysia on Sunday. Photo / Supplied

Police investigating the disappearance of Nora Quoirin in Malaysia say they believe she may still be alive, after finding her "footprints" in the jungle.

Search teams are focusing their search on isolated hilly areas and believe she could be hiding behind big rocks.

Police have announced they discovered several footprints they believe belong to the missing teenager.

According to the Sun, the footprints were found near the isolated resort where the 15-year-old was holidaying with her family before she went missing on Sunday.

"Our detective canines had spotted footprints, but when we conducted a search there, we couldn't find her," State Fire and Rescue Department director Ahmad Mukhlis Mokhtar said.

He said he remained optimistic Nora would be found soon.

The teen has learning difficulties and the parents say she won't understand what's going on.

A huge hole was reportedly found in a fence surrounding the resort, which raised the possibility the British teen may have wandered into the jungle and got lost.

Search crews are playing a voice recording of Nora's mother over loudspeakers as they step up their jungle search.

The recorded message is "Nora darling, I love you … mum is here. Mum is here, Nora darling, my love".

A total of 252 people are now involved in the hunt for the teen.

'Just like Maddie

A top British police officer says the disappearance of 15-year-old Nora Quoirin has disturbing echoes of the tragic case of Madeleine McCann.

Child protection expert Jim Gamble says Nora's case resembles that of Maddie McCann, who went missing on a family holiday with her parents and siblings in Portugal.

He also likened it to the disappearance of Ben Needham, who also went missing on a family holiday.

"Ultimately, the cases of children go missing abroad are so rare that we tend to know the names of all of them," he said.

"This is now one of three cases that are similar ... Ben Needham, who went missing many years ago, Madeleine McCann, who is still on everybody's minds, and now Nora."

He says the British National Crime Agency has the expertise required to solve this case.

Nora, 15, is from London and disappeared from a holiday resort near the Berembun Forest Reserve on Sunday.

Hundreds of officers are part of a full-scale search for the missing teen, who has special needs.

The British expert says he hopes specialist help will be enlisted to join the officers already on the case in Malaysia.

"This is not because the Malaysian police do not have the necessary expertise ... it is because the NCA is in a unique position to offer the world's very best help," he told the Sun.

Gamble says the family is going through everybody's "worst nightmare".

"I am reassured talking to family that there are lots of resources from police doing structured work with regards to missing side of the search," he said.

"These cases are so rare that very few police forces have significant levels of experience in this.

Gamble is a former police chief, who carried outside a full-scale review into the disappearance of Madeleine.