NOAH DONOHOE’S MUM FOUGHT FOR SIX YEARS FOR ANSWERS — NOW HIS INQUEST HAS REVEALED A TRAIL OF FAILINGS

Fiona Donohoe spent years demanding answers after her 14-year-old son disappeared in Belfast. Now, after a five-month inquest, the family has finally heard findings about the investigation — but many questions remain unanswered.

For more than six years, Fiona Donohoe has refused to stop searching for answers about what happened to her son, Noah.

The 14-year-old Belfast schoolboy disappeared on June 21, 2020, after leaving home on his bicycle.

Six days later, his body was discovered inside an underground storm drain in north Belfast.

A post-mortem examination concluded that Noah died by drowning.

But the circumstances surrounding his final hours remained deeply troubling to his family — and Fiona spent years campaigning for a fuller investigation into what happened.

“NOAH WAS MY GREATEST GIFT IN LIFE”

Fiona’s campaign became one of the most visible missing-person campaigns in Northern Ireland.

She helped build “Noah’s Army,” a movement that attracted thousands of supporters and a petition with almost 300,000 signatures calling for transparency.

When the inquest finally began in January 2026, Fiona attended proceedings throughout the months of evidence.

She watched as witnesses, police officers and experts were questioned about Noah’s disappearance, the search operation and the investigation that followed.

The inquest heard evidence from 76 witnesses, alongside statements from dozens of other people.

A JOURNEY THAT STILL RAISES QUESTIONS

CCTV footage shown during the proceedings helped establish parts of Noah’s final journey.

He was seen cycling through Belfast before apparently falling from his bicycle and abandoning some of his belongings.

Later footage showed him cycling without clothes before he left his bicycle and moved towards an area connected to the storm-drain system.

The circumstances were highly unusual, and investigators considered several possibilities during the search.

But the inquest ultimately found that there was not enough evidence to establish every detail of what happened to Noah.

13 POLICE INVESTIGATION FAILINGS IDENTIFIED

One of the most significant findings concerned the way the investigation was handled.

The jury did not find that failings by the Police Service of Northern Ireland directly contributed to Noah’s death.

However, jurors identified 13 investigative failures that affected their ability to establish what happened.

These included problems involving CCTV evidence, delays in following up certain leads, weaknesses in documentation and shortcomings in the way searches were managed.

The jury also heard that some potentially important CCTV footage was not secured or properly followed up at the time.

The findings do not establish that these failures caused Noah’s death.

But they show why Fiona has spent years questioning whether more could have been done during the crucial early stages of the investigation.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STORM DRAIN

The inquest also examined the storm drain where Noah was eventually found.

Jurors concluded that it was possible, but not probable, that shortcomings in the management of the drain by Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure contributed to his death.

The entrance had not been secured in a way that prevented access, and the jury heard evidence about the design and condition of the structure.

That finding has become another major part of Fiona’s campaign for accountability.

FIONA’S HEARTBREAKING RESPONSE

After the findings, Fiona said she had entered the inquest looking for answers.

Instead, she said she was leaving with one clear conclusion: she believed her son had been failed.

Her statement criticised both the Department for Infrastructure and the PSNI, arguing that failures during the investigation had made it harder to understand what happened.

She also thanked the thousands of people who had stood alongside her throughout the years-long campaign.

For Fiona, the fight has never simply been about one unanswered case.

It has been about making sure that her son is remembered — and that the questions surrounding his final journey are not forgotten.

SIX YEARS LATER, THE QUESTIONS REMAIN

Noah was remembered by friends and teachers as an intelligent, curious and kind teenager with ambitions for the future.

He loved music, learning and had dreams of studying medicine.

Instead, his life ended at just 14.

The inquest has now documented significant shortcomings in the investigation and raised concerns about access to the storm drain.

But it has not provided a complete explanation for every unanswered question surrounding Noah’s death.

And for Fiona Donohoe, the search for answers has never truly ended.

Six years after Noah disappeared, his mother is still fighting to keep his story alive. 💔