The inquest into the tragic death of schoolboy Noah Donohoe has heard that police dedicated a "significant amount of officers" to the search operation in the days following his disappearance. A police witness testified at Belfast Coroner's Court that the high risk level of the case was recognised very quickly by authorities.
Inquest Enters Ninth Week with Detailed Testimony
The inquest, which is being conducted with a jury, has now entered its ninth week of proceedings. Noah Donohoe, a 14-year-old pupil at St Malachy's College, was found dead in a storm drain tunnel in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after he left his home on his bicycle to meet friends in the Cavehill area of the city.
A post-mortem examination determined that the likely cause of death was drowning. The inquest resumed on Monday morning with evidence from Inspector Bell, who was a sergeant at the time of Noah's disappearance and had been actively involved in the investigation to locate the missing teenager.
Police Response and Search Coordination
Inspector Bell told the court that he had been carrying out inquiries on Northwood Road on Tuesday, June 23, two days after Noah was reported missing. During his testimony, he revealed that he had observed CCTV footage on a mobile phone showing a youth cycling naked in the area.
The officer explained to the jury that on the previous day, he was serving as the morning duty sergeant at Lisburn Road police station when an inspector informed him that he would be coordinating the investigation into Noah's disappearance.
"On the Monday there were a lot of actions that needed to be delegated and co-ordinated and different updates coming in," Inspector Bell stated. "When I come on duty I want to be fully aware of the investigation."
Risk Assessment and Resource Allocation
When questioned by counsel to the coroner, Peter Coll, about whether there was a "checklist" of items he was monitoring, Inspector Bell responded that he worked from a template but added extra actions "tailored to the individual investigation."
He noted that there were two sergeants on duty that Monday. One sergeant handled other duties while Inspector Bell concentrated specifically on the Noah search because "we both recognised the significant risk."
"We certainly did allocate a significant amount of officers to this investigation," Inspector Bell emphasized. "When you look at the timeline of my emails and my phone calls, you can see this investigation had me dedicated to it. The risk, I believe, was recognised very quickly."
Inspector Bell added that police routinely deal with missing person investigations on most days, highlighting the frequency of such cases.
Search Strategy and Investigation Challenges
Regarding the search efforts, Inspector Bell testified that the Cavehill area had been checked overnight by air support, and there was "no new information" indicating that further searches were necessary in that location.
"We had no information to say that Noah was definitely in Cavehill, it was one of our hypothesis," he explained. "He had plans to go there, however, those plans were cancelled."
The inquest continues as more evidence is presented to the jury, with further testimony expected in the coming days.
