Inquest sees image of clothes abandoned on day Noah disappeared

An inquest has been shown a photograph of trainers and a top worn by Noah Donohoe on the day of his disappearance.

Lauren Russell, a resident of Northwood Road in north Belfast, described to the coroner and jury how she noticed the clothing and footwear on the evening of the schoolboy's disappearance from the street.

The photograph showed a jacket strewn on top of a garden wall and trainers placed neatly side by side on the street.

The witness said it looked like "someone had placed them there".

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.

Chris Morrow, another resident of Northwood Road, explained to the inquest that he noticed a bicycle on the edge of a driveway in Northwood Road on the evening of Noah's disappearance.

He also said he noticed a black helmet in the area the following day and alerted police officers who were searching in the area at the time.

When asked if he had seen Noah on the day of his disappearance, while the witness was visiting a relative close to where the schoolboy went missing, he replied: "I did not".

Morrow also described how he would have been concerned for his own children's safety if he had been aware a culvert in the area.

He said he knew there was an access point to a former play area, but he did not know what was in "behind those gates".

When he was asked if he would have wanted to know about the culvert, he said: "Very much so."

He said his children "would have been told not to play in that area".

He also described how he was aware of a "cut through" area, occasionally used by some local school children, through overgrown land between Premier Drive and the general Northwood Road area where Noah was last seen.

The inquest was shown CCTV footage from the street where Noah was last seen and there was a focus on identifying feet shown in the area close to the time of the boy's disappearance.

Morrow confirmed he believed two sets of feet shown on the CCTV footage belonged to himself and one of his daughters who were visiting a grandparent with their family at the time.

His wife, Lauren Morrow, also told the inquest about seeing the helmet and wondering "why was it sitting there?".

The inquest continues.