An inquest at Belfast Coroner's Court continues into the death of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe, a St Malachy's College pupil. His naked body was found in a storm drain tunnel in north Belfast six days after he left home on his bike on June 21, 2020, to meet two friends in the Cavehill area. A post-mortem examination found drowning as the likely cause of death.

The jury heard from Inspector Cuan Bell, a sergeant at the time, who coordinated the investigation from Lisburn Road police station on June 22, 2020. Two sergeants were on duty that Monday. One handled other tasks while Bell focused on the search due to its high risk. Police assigned a significant number of officers to the case.

Bell used a standard template for inquiries and added case-specific actions. Officers checked addresses of friends and family. City centre CCTV operators searched for Noah on his bike. All officers carried his picture. The search took place under Covid restrictions that limited public movement.

Cavehill received overnight air support checks. Plans to meet friends there were cancelled, and no firm evidence placed Noah in the area. Police considered possibilities including sleeping rough after waking up somewhere. Resources went to areas most likely to yield results in the dense zone where multiple directions were possible.

On June 23, Bell conducted inquiries in Northwood Road and viewed mobile phone CCTV of a youth cycling naked nearby. Front CCTV from a house there showed Noah naked, abandoning his bike on the pavement before going behind houses. Bell knew of rear-view CCTV at the house and viewed that footage on a mobile phone.

Bell stated the rear footage offered little additional information. He requested further checks but saw low likelihood of results due to a 6ft garden fence obscuring views. A video re-enactment showed possible movement and head-and-shoulders beyond the fence, which Bell attributed to the re-enactor's height exceeding Noah's 5ft stature.

Bell defended not recording rear CCTV details in notes, noting it formed one part of wider enquiries including searches across Belfast, shopping centres, transport hubs, and public spaces. He described phone transmitter data as not the top priority. The inquest, now in its ninth week since January, may run until early May.