Police Overlooked CCTV of Missing Belfast Teen Noah Donohoe in Initial Search
An ongoing inquest into the tragic death of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe has revealed that police missed crucial CCTV footage during the first 24 hours of the search for the missing teenager. Noah was reported missing after leaving his home on his bike to meet friends in the Cavehill area of Belfast in June 2020. His body was discovered six days later in a storm drain in north Belfast, with a post-mortem confirming drowning as the cause of death.
CCTV Time Discrepancy Led to Missed Evidence
During the third week of the inquest at Belfast Coroner's Court, it emerged that a constable on duty the day after Noah vanished reviewed CCTV footage from the Grove leisure centre but reported negative results. Brenda Campbell KC, representing Noah's mother Fiona Donohoe, highlighted that the police log stated CCTV was checked at the leisure centre and a nearby funeral directors with no sightings. However, she asserted that Noah was indeed captured on that footage.
Ms Campbell explained that the CCTV system was operating approximately 43 minutes behind real-time, meaning events from around 6 pm could be viewed at 5:17 pm. She criticised the police for not verifying the camera's time settings, describing it as "basic policing". If officers checked the footage for 6 pm without accounting for the delay, they would have been looking at a period 40 minutes after Noah passed, thus missing him entirely.
Confusion Over CCTV Availability and Urgency of Investigation
The inquest heard conflicting police log entries regarding the CCTV footage. Initially, at 3:15 pm, the log noted negative results, but by 6:41 pm, it stated that no CCTV was available at the leisure centre due to no staff present to operate it. Ms Campbell suggested a "grey area" in police reporting, questioning whether the footage was truly negative or if camera time inaccuracies were to blame.
When asked about the urgency of pursuing CCTV evidence, Detective Constable Keatley responded that she believed everyone was invested in the investigation but could not speak for other officers. She confirmed that Noah "may have been missed on that Grove footage" because he was on it at 6:01 pm, contrary to the initial negative report.
Emotional Testimony and Police Interactions with Family
Earlier in the proceedings, the constable was questioned about her communications with Fiona Donohoe in the 48 hours following Noah's disappearance. Counsel for the coroner, Declan Quinn, noted the highly emotional situation, describing it as "every mother's worst nightmare," which the constable acknowledged. She expressed having a rapport with Ms Donohoe and feeling invested in the case.
The constable also recounted recovering Noah's phone, which had been found and charged by a member of the public. When the phone rang with "Mum" on the screen, she answered it quickly to prevent Ms Donohoe from getting excited, recognising the difficulty of the moment. Ms Campbell acknowledged that the constable had communicated "really difficult news" with the family and was not disputing her efforts.
The inquest continues, with further hearings scheduled to examine the circumstances surrounding Noah Donohoe's disappearance and death.
