Questions remain over Noah Donohoe disappearance, search commander says

The Community Rescue Service commander, who was in charge of the search for Noah Donohoe in June 2020, says his mother's search for answers will continue.

On Tuesday, the jury at the inquest into the schoolboy's death found the Department for Infrastructure failed to identify a hazard at a water tunnel in which Noah was found dead, and that there was no warning sign.

They also found that neither the department or the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) contributed in any way to Noah's death. However, they did list 13 failings by police during the investigation.

Sean McCarry, who gave evidence at the inquest, has said it was detailed, but said some questions still remain.

"It took six days to find Noah. It took six years to get the inquest and it took nine months for a jury to reach its conclusions. That's a process that has to be done," McCarry told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"We're never going to get, and it's a difficult thing, we're never going to get all of the answers we want to get but there are some things that have definitely been answered," he said.

"It was a very detailed inquest with lots of things that I'm sure helped many people and I'm sure will help many people in the future … but it does not bring Fiona's search to an end."

McCarry said that during the search, he got to know a lot about Noah, adding that "he would just have been anybody's favourite perfect child".

"Whenever you have someone so perfect and something imperfect like this happens it's so difficult to understand and explain it," McCarry said.

"It's touched every single life, I would have to say every single person across all of Northern Ireland and Ireland and wider afield."

On Tuesday Noah's mother, Fiona Donohoe, said he had been failed by both the department and police while the family's solicitor said she had suffered "indignity after indignity".

The PSNI said itwas a "complex and challenging investigation which garnered huge public and media interest, along with widespread speculation" and the eventual outcome was "devastating".

Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck said there was "no action that police could have taken" that would have prevented Noah's death.

Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said Fiona and Noah's family are at the forefront of her mind.

"As minister, I will make sure the department does everything it needs to ensure all lessons are learned."

Noah went missing on Sunday, 21 June 2020, after leaving his south Belfast home on his bicycle, sparking a huge search across the city.

He was found dead six days later in the water tunnel in the north of the city, which leads into Belfast Lough, with the cause of death found to be drowning.

Eyewitnesses, who were the last to see him in the vicinity of the tunnel, reported that he was naked.

The incident sparked widespread speculation about what happened to Noah, with his family launching a high-profile campaign.

There was no conclusive evidence at the inquest about why Noah was without his possessions and all the clothing he was wearing when he was last seen alive.

There was also no evidence about any physical interaction between the schoolboy and anyone else during his journey from his south Belfast to the north.

The inquest heard evidence from 76 witnesses and statements from a further 42 people, and involved maps, video footage, photographs, police logs and expert reports.

Jurors were tasked with agreeing findings on 10 questions, including the date of Noah's death and whether any errors made by police contributed to his death.