WATCH: Parents of Nóra Quoirin thank 'concerned' Malaysian search operation teams
Local journalist Beatrice Nita Jay has been speaking to people in the area who have said no one has ever gone missing for this length of time, adding "it's a really big jungle."
She said: "Yes there are cases here where people have lost their way before, the maximum [number of] days that they have taken to come out has been one or two days. Even the locals are quite surprised and they are also helping the authorities."
Ms Nita Jay added that the police "have ruled out the possibility of an abduction. They believe she has gone missing. They still believe that perhaps, maybe because Nora is a child with special needs, she might be afraid of the noise and things like that, but it has been 7 days."
The parents of an Irish teenager missing for almost a week in Malaysia have thanked teams taking part in a widespread search operation.
Meabh and Sebastian Quoirin, whose 15-year-old daughter Nóra has been missing since last Sunday, said "terima kasih", or "thank you" in Malay, to those searching for her.
In a short speech, Ms Quoirin held back tears, as her husband stood beside her, rubbing her arm.
In a video broadcast on local media, she said: "We want to say thank you to each and every one of you. We know you're searching night and day for Nora.
"We see you working so hard and also praying with us and being with us.
"You have given up your time especially at a special festival time," she said, referring to Hari Raya Haji, the Islamic "festival of sacrifice" celebrations.
Ms Quoirin praised the dedication and expertise shown by those looking for Nora.
To be with us here, it means the world to us. We are so grateful for everything that you are doing for us, everyone who is helping here and not from here.
"We are extremely impressed by the effort, your expertise, your dedication and we hope you find Nora.
"And thank you so much and terima kasih," she said.
The Quoirins, an Irish-French family who have lived in London for 20 years, arrived in the Dusun forest eco-resort in southern Negeri Sembilan state a week ago.
Nora, who has an Irish passport, was last seen on Sunday.
The family fears their daughter, who was born with the brain defect holoprosencephaly and needs help with many aspects of everyday life, may have been abducted.
Westlife, who performed in the country this week, asked their fans to help look for the missing teenager, the Malaysian Star publication reported.
Posters of Nora flashed on giant screens before and during the concert before band member Nicky Byrne pleaded with the 7, 000-strong crowd to keep find her.
"Help share (the poster) on social media. If you know anything about Nóra's disappearance, come forward," he said.
"We are from the same country so this feels very close to us. We wish her family, who must be devastated, much love.
"If you have any information, please go to the authorities," Mr Byrne said.
The family has said they remain hopeful after police leading the investigation refused to rule out a "criminal element".
