Belfast Coroner's Court is conducting a jury inquest into the death of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe from St Malachy's College. His naked body was found in a storm drain tunnel in north Belfast on June 27, 2020. He went missing six days earlier after leaving home on his bike to meet friends in the Cavehill area. A post-mortem determined drowning as the cause of death.

Sergeant Hastings, the lead police search adviser, took charge of the search on Tuesday, two days after Noah was last seen. Searches focused on Northwood Road and Northwood Linear Park, site of the culvert. He received details on a stream and pipe during handover and assigned a team to the pipe. Hastings prioritised other locations first due to lack of entry evidence and rated the chance of Noah being in the culvert at 5% or less.

By Tuesday morning, teams had searched 180 metres of the 970-metre drain. They advanced 320 more metres by Friday, with the remainder half-filled with water at low tide. A PSNI search-and-rescue team in drysuits located the body on Saturday. Hastings said the team lacked required confined space training under health and safety rules.

Owen McGivern, head of development with DfI Rivers, stated the culvert interior was pitch black. He noted very little change at the access point from wasteland behind Northwood Road and Premier Drive over five years.

Brenda Campbell KC, representing Noah's mother Fiona Donohoe, questioned Hastings on search priorities, delays in maps and hazard information, and classifying the effort as a rescue. Hastings rejected the suggestions.

Mr Justice Rooney, the coroner, told the jury the inquest is proceeding slower than planned and scheduled a review of witnesses and timelines.