Outsiders Disrupted Search for Missing Teen Noah Donohoe

Published: 27 February 2026
The English Chronicle Desk
The English Chronicle Online

The inquest into the death of 14‑year‑old Noah Donohoe has heard that well‑meaning volunteers and others described by search leaders as “people from outside” significantly disrupted the official search efforts when the Belfast schoolboy went missing in June 2020. Witness testimony at Belfast Coroner’s Court this week painted a picture of chaotic scenes around Northwood Linear Park and surrounding areas, where trained rescuers struggled to maintain a coordinated search in the face of mounting public involvement.

Noah, a pupil at St Malachy’s College, vanished on 21 June 2020 after leaving his south Belfast home on his bicycle to meet friends. His body was found almost a week later in a storm drain tunnel near the M2 motorway in north Belfast, with the post‑mortem concluding that he had drowned.

During the inquest, Sean McCarry, regional commander of the Community Rescue Service (CRS) volunteers involved in the search, told jurors that the scale of public response was unprecedented but that it also made it more difficult for trained personnel to conduct methodical operations. McCarry said that hundreds of members of the public, many from outside the immediate community, had gathered in search areas and that the crowd had to be asked repeatedly to step back so that specialist teams could carry out technical searches safely and without interference.

McCarry acknowledged that while many volunteers were “well intentioned” in their desire to help, there were also people who tried to “insert” themselves into search efforts without sufficient training or awareness of operational procedures. He described such participation as problematic, saying it diverted resources and created additional safety concerns for both rescuers and bystanders. Although he framed this observation diplomatically, McCarry said that balancing public enthusiasm with the need for orderly, professional search protocols was a major challenge.

The inquest has also examined other aspects of the search, including the timing of crucial information being shared with search teams. Witnesses detailed how delays in passing on CCTV data and phone‑location details may have hampered early search decisions, potentially affecting the direction and focus of the response in critical hours.

Noah’s disappearance drew intense local and city‑wide attention at the time, prompting not only official search efforts by police and CRS volunteers but also widespread community involvement. The coroner’s proceedings have underscored this collective determination to find the missing boy, even as they scrutinise how the operation was managed and whether procedural changes are needed to improve future responses.

As the inquest continues, the focus remains on understanding the sequence of events in June 2020, the conduct of search operations, and how different forms of public participation influenced professional efforts. The hearing continues to examine evidence relating to the progress of the search, police information handling, volunteer coordination, and other operational issues.

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