Inquest hears of discovery of Noah Donohoe’s mobile phone

By Jonathan McCambridge, Press Association

The inquest into the death of Noah Donohoe has heard about the moment the schoolboy’s mobile phone was discovered while he was missing.

The woman who found the phone told Belfast Coroner’s Court she tried to use it to call Noah’s mother before contacting police.

Noah was 14 when he was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after leaving home on his bike to meet two friends in the Cavehill area of the city.

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

The inquest, which is being heard with a jury, is in its third week.

Noah’s mother Fiona Donohoe has attended every day of the proceedings.

Adelaide Armstrong told Belfast Coroner’s Court she was walking in Castleton Park on June 22nd, 2020, the day after Noah disappeared, when she saw a black mobile phone lying in a grassy area.

She said: “I checked and the phone was off, and I took it home to charge and see if I could contact the owner.”

Ms Armstrong said the screen of the phone was broken, and it was possible it had been thrown into the park.

She added that she found it four or five feet from the park railings.

Ms Armstrong said she turned the phone back on after charging it and saw there were missed calls from a number listed as “Mum”.

She told the court: “I think I actually tried ringing that number first, and was just ringing out.

“And then I saw another number, and I tried to ring that, that was the police.”