I’ve spent a lot of time reading this thread and thinking about Nora and her family, trying to imagine what could have happened here (and I have a lot of company). For what it’s worth, here are some of my (amateur) ideas.
If we didn’t already know that Nora was tragically found deceased, alone, barefoot, nude and apparently unmolested in the rainforest adjacent to the resort 11 days (?) after she disappeared, I would never have come up with the following scenarios.
The family was at the resort/accommodation a full day (?) before Nora vanished. Although they would probably have been tired from traveling and may well have spent some time resting, I would imagine they also spent some time outdoors too, perhaps at the swimming pool or playground and/or just walking around to see what was there.
While swimming, playing and/or walking around outside, they may have talked with others such as adults and children who were guests, and perhaps even resort staff.
I believe I recall seeing a sign (or was it on their website?), describing the offer of guided walking tours to the nearby rainforest waterfall. Perhaps the family either took part in conversations with others about the guided walking tours or overheard others talking about them. They maybe even discussed the possibility of going on such a guided walking tour, and that may well have captured the imagination of the children, and perhaps Nora most of all.
Now I do not pretend to know anything about Nora that has not been mentioned in this thread, but I can’t help wondering if at 15, she was beginning to feel a bit more like a “regular” teenager (unlike her parents’ opinion of her) and wanted to strike out on her own a little to “prove” she was more capable than others thought she was. Tragically, 15 year olds (whether “special needs” or not), often do not have the maturity to foresee the consequences of their actions.
So after sleeping the night (and I don’t know when she left her room), she awakened and decided to go have a look around the resort either by herself, or in the company of a sibling. The sibling may well have refused to go with Nora, or she may have decided not to ask a sibling to go with her. So then Nora might have left on her own, probably quite tentatively at first, and probably quietly so as not to awaken her parents. She would have been excited at the prospect of striking out on her own. If the children had left their shoes downstairs (which seems reasonable), Nora may have forgotten to stop to put them on before leaving through the downstairs window. At this point, I don’t know what to say about the nighttime garments she was wearing, other than she seems not to have gotten dressed, which is odd (I think).
Nora steps outside and is thrilled with her independence. Maybe it was at dawn or just before dawn. If she left in total darkness, it’s just hard for me to imagine that, unless the resort had outside lighting that would have been on at the time she left her accommodation. In any case, she starts out on her walk, and goes to the entrance of the rainforest, which she may have known about from their walk around the day before. Surely by this time it’s dawn and there is enough sunlight to allow her to see where she’s going in the rainforest.
She may have just imagined walking for a short distance then turning around and going back, just for the thrill of it. Perhaps as she approached and entered the rainforest, some of the early morning staff or the guests had started to either arrive or stir, and she hurried a bit to stay out of sight. Perhaps she walked a little further on until she could no longer hear any activity from the resort, assuming she did hear and/or see at least some movement or sound.
From what I think I recall, the ”path” into the rainforest was walkable for a distance, otherwise, the guided walking tours would not have been offered.
Nora was enthralled with what she was seeing (perhaps with the idea she would actually reach the waterfall — not sure at all about that one). But the beauty of the rainforest was intoxicating and she was on an adventure. All had worked out so far: she had gotten out of her accommodation without waking her parents, and actually reached the rainforest path without anyone seeing her. And she had done it on her own!
Tragically, Nora becomes lost after walking over a mile in the rainforest. At some point, she takes off her nighttime garments. I don’t pretend to know why (unless they got wet when she went to drink from the river or creek or whatever, and they didn’t dry because of the humidity and so were uncomfortable). I really don’t know if she would have been afraid to ask for help from any of the searchers, if indeed she ever saw or heard any of the searchers. But we seem to know she didn’t apply for or receive help from anyone (as far as we know) and she was hopelessly lost. It’s simply heartbreaking to think of her 8 days alone, lost, wandering, starving, and no doubt desperate to find a way out of the forest. I live in North America, but I sure wish I could have been there to help her.
Sorry for this long narrative. I’ve been thinking about all of this for days and wanted to just get it out there.
