An inquest into the death of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe heard evidence on police body camera footage from the discovery of his body in a north Belfast tunnel. The footage captured the moments after PSNI search-and-rescue team members located the remains on June 27, 2020, six days after Noah went missing on June 21, 2020.

Noah, a St Malachy's College student, had left his south Belfast home by bike to meet friends at Cavehill. CCTV placed him on the Shore Road and Northwood Road near a storm drain inlet. His body was found in an underground water tunnel near a Translink depot along the M2.

Constable Wylie of the PSNI search-and-rescue team described entering the tunnel behind the Translink yard at 9.10am. The tunnel measured 8ft in diameter and 10ft high, with very little water present. He and a colleague spotted human remains about 20 feet in, including legs and buttocks with no clothing.

Wylie noted half a dozen marks in a thin layer of sludge on tunnel sides, two-thirds up and spaced evenly over 15-20 feet, stopping 15 feet short of the body. He attributed the finger-length indents, made by smaller hands, to Noah steadying himself while moving through.

The team exited to alert others, returned with a camera, and recorded the scene showing the body near a corner with green deposits on the back. No photographs captured the sludge marks, and a later check found no additional marks.

A post-mortem determined drowning as the likely cause of death. Noah's mother Fiona left the courtroom before the footage played.

Constable Craig reviewed CCTV from the rear of 85 Northwood Road on June 23, 2020. He saw no sign of Noah in back gardens or the area, despite an incorrect timestamp, and found no evidential value in the 10-minute clip viewed on a mobile phone.

Craig spotted Noah on front footage from the same house walking quickly toward a neighboring driveway. He passed details to senior colleagues but omitted the rear footage from his initial inquest statement, later calling it poor practice. PSNI learned of the rear camera after inquest proceedings began in late January 2026.

Craig confirmed missing prior footage of Noah cycling past Grove Wellbeing Centre at 6.01pm and did not recall checking Morgan and Melville Funeral Directors.