Officer recalls chat with Noah Donohoe's mother on night of disappearance

The first police officer who met Noah Donohoe's mother after she reported him missing has described how he investigated a "high-risk" missing persons case.

Sgt David Murphy told an inquest into the schoolboy's death that he visited the family home on the night of Noah's disappearance in June 2020 and his mother, Fiona Donohoe, described her son as having been "very emotional" during the week before.

Murphy noted how Fiona Donohoe described how her son had been acting "strange".

He said she told him that her son had been "hugging and kissing" her a lot and telling her that "he loves her a lot."

The body of the 14-year-old was found in a storm drain in north Belfast on 27 June 2020, six days after he went missing.

A post-mortem examination found his death was due to drowning.

The witness said Noah's mother told him on the night her son went missing that his disappearance was "totally out of character" and he would normally be home long before 22:00 BST.

He also referred to Fiona Donohoe telling him that her son had a book with him about living life in a different way.

The inquest has previously heard that the book was Twelve Rules for Life by the author Jordan Peterson.

The witness said a search of the family home, including Noah's bedroom, did not reveal anything to suggest that he did not intend to return home.

Murphy also said Noah had never come to the attention of the police previously and there was nothing to suggest he had ever made any reference to self harm.

The witness also explained that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) investigation was initially treated as a "medium-risk" case before being upgraded to a "high-risk" case.

The police officer was questioned by a barrister for Noah's mother about the precise details he recorded in his notebook during his initial inquiries at the Donohoe family home.

The witness said he was "quite content with my actions".

When he was asked if Noah's mother had used the word "strange" to describe her son's behaviour, Murphy said he wouldn't have used it "if it wasn't said".

He also agreed that his inquiries led him to believe Noah had no mental health issues and was not on any medication.

Earlier, a woman who found Noah's phone the day after he went missing told the inquest that she found the device inside railings and close to the road in Castleton Park in north Belfast.

Adelaide Armstrong said the phone screen was damaged, and she thought the device was out of charge, so she and her husband brought it home to charge it in an effort to contact the owner.

She subsequently saw a message on the device from the police asking anyone who found the phone to contact them.

The witness told a barrister for Noah's mother that she also noticed missed calls from "Mum" on the phone.