'People from outside' caused problems during search for Noah Donohoe

The leader of a volunteer rescue team has said that "people from outside," caused problems during the operation to find the Belfast schoolboy Noah Donohoe.

The body of the St Malachy's College pupil was found in a water tunnel close to the M2 motorway almost a week after he went missing in June 2020.

Sean McCarry was in charge of dozens of Community Rescue Service (CRS) volunteers who were part of an extensive search operation at the time.

He has been giving evidence for a second day at the inquest into the 14-year-old schoolboy's death.

He has defended the actions of search teams during the operation.

During questioning by a barrister for Fiona Donohoe, Noah's mother, about the potential impact of delays around the sharing of police information with the CRS team during the searches, the witness said it was a "hypothetical" proposition and he added: "We're now in the realm of hindsight."

He accepted that it could potentially have been helpful at the time but added, "you need the balance".

The barrister pointed out that if information about CCTV footage had been shared earlier, a search around the culvert close to where Noah disappeared could have commenced "at 9am instead of 9pm."

The lawyer emphasised that time is critical in any search for a missing person.

McCarry said any hypothetical scenario must be considered in the context of balance.

The witness also told the inquest that "people from outside" were causing problems during the search for Noah Donohoe.

He said he joined the police in requesting hundreds of members of the public to step back from the search to allow space for trained teams to conduct specialised searches.

He paid tribute to the members of the public who were "well-intentioned" in their desire to help in the search for the missing boy but, he said, there were other "people from outside" who wanted to "insert" themselves into the search.

The witness explained that there is a common occurrence where some people engage in what he described as "a weekend pastime" where they believe they should be involved in missing person searches.

He said he was being "diplomatic" when he said such people were "causing a problem" for trained search teams.

The witness also described the search for the Belfast schoolboy as "unique".

Sean McCarry said their operation had many similarities to other searches, but he described the search for Noah as "a unique situation" and added that he "never experienced a search with such an immediate impact" in terms of community support.

The witness explained how all search operations present difficulties, and the volunteers are always aware of the need to address any issues around potential delays or mistakes during and after any search operation.

"Every single search has its challenges", he said.

The witness also explained how the volunteers considered their initial searches of Cave Hill as "very credible" because Noah's mother, Fiona, had provided information which stated that her son had said he planned to go to that area to meet friends on the day he disappeared.

The inquest was also shown details of information exchanged during the police investigation which stated that "no suicide note" had been found or "any other information which would indicate that Noah intends to harm himself".

The Coroner, Mr Justice Rooney, and the jury of nine men and two women also heard that a text was sent to Noah's phone, by his mother, asking him to get in touch.

The inquest has previously heard how Noah and his phone became parted before his disappearance, and it was subsequently found, powered-off, at a play park.

The witness also explained how he considered the culvert they found soon after the CRS team began searches around the scene of Noah's last known sighting as a potential "natural hiding place" for a 14-year-old boy who was naked when he disappeared.

The inquest was shown a Department for Infrastructure video recording which showed how an adult could fit through the space between steel bars around the culvert.

Sean McCarry concluded his evidence by saying that Fiona Donohoe and her family remain in the thoughts of the CRS volunteers.