Search Delay for Noah Donohoe's Culvert Location
A lawyer has indicated there was a "12-hour delay" in searching a culvert for Noah Donohoe.
Noah's body was discovered more than 600 meters downstream from a culvert entrance near the location where he was last seen alive in north Belfast in June 2020.
The 14-year-old's body was found almost a week after his disappearance.
Sgt Barry Hutchings, who played a leading role in the investigation, has provided evidence for a second day at the inquest into Noah's death.
During extensive questioning regarding what a barrister for Fiona Donohoe, Noah's mother, described as "a 12-hour delay" in searching the culvert, Hutchings stated that the police did not anticipate finding Noah there at that time.
"There was nothing to suggest he was in there," he said.
He further explained that other searches were underway in various locations around Belfast, adding:
"The pipe was just being searched to discount it".
When asked if search teams opened as many manholes as possible along the tunnel to call down in hopes of eliciting a response, Hutchings replied:
"I wasn't expecting to find him alive. This was not a rescue, this was a search".
The witness also noted that, based on his experience with missing persons cases, he believed the likelihood of finding someone alive decreases significantly if they remain missing 43 hours after disappearance.
"Nothing to Suggest Anyone Else Was Involved"
Earlier in the proceedings, Hutchings was questioned about when he became aware, in his role as lead police search adviser, of the culvert near where Noah disappeared behind houses on Northwood Road.
A witness from the Community Rescue Service had previously testified that he mentioned the culvert to Hutchings, who was off duty at the time, on the evening of Monday, 22 June 2020. Noah had gone missing the previous evening.
However, Hutchings explained on Wednesday that he was only informed about "a stream" behind the houses and that he first discovered the culvert and sought specialized assistance to search it when he returned to duty and visited the area the following morning, 23 June.
When asked if he would have sought specialized help sooner had he known about the culvert while off duty on Monday night, he responded:
"I'd have started the ball rolling".
The police witness also stated there was no evidence to suggest a third party was involved in the disappearance of the schoolboy.
Nevertheless, Hutchings said the police investigation was expanded at one point to include checks on sex offenders in the area.
Hutchings served as the main police search advisor (Polsa) during the investigation and helped establish the strategy for physical searches alongside the senior investigating officer.
He described how this part of the investigation included a private drone search of an area near the outlet of a water tunnel flowing into Belfast Lough.
Regarding the various searches conducted, he said:
"There was nothing to suggest that anyone else was involved".
Police Investigated Known Sex Offenders
Search operations continued for several days without any trace of Noah. The inquest heard that other branches of the police conducted separate inquiries, including examining computers, bank records, and contacting friends of the missing boy.
Hutchings said this also involved reviewing information on "known sex offenders in the area".
In the absence of any breakthrough, he explained this was part of an investigative consideration that "somebody has taken him".
The inquest was informed this was a secondary police scenario, examining whether Noah may have been "under the influence of a third party".
The coroner, Mr Justice Rooney, and the jury of nine men and two women heard that the primary scenario in the police investigation remained that the schoolboy was "missing voluntarily".
Hutchings was also questioned about the use of maps and the collection of CCTV footage early in the investigation.
He noted that
"it takes time to get information"from CCTV footage.
The witness further told the coroner and jury that the National Crime Agency had recommended that key members of the investigation team be retained "for the foreseeable future" to ensure continuity.
However, Hutchings explained that his offer to work an extra day was declined because overtime was not approved.
He said this decision required him to brief a colleague who at that time "knew nothing" about the search operation.
"He had nothing at all, no knowledge of it".
Despite this, Hutchings stated he did not believe the Police Service of Northern Ireland's decision caused any delay in the ongoing investigation.
A group of women sat in the public gallery behind Fiona Donohoe during the hearing on Wednesday.
