Postmortem finds Noah Donohoe died from drowning

A postmortem has found that 14-year-old Noah Donohoe died as a result of drowning.

The teenager went missing on Sunday, June 21st after he cycled from his home in south Belfast across the city to north Belfast.

After a major search involving the police and rescue services and hundreds of volunteers, his body was found on Saturday, June 27th in a storm drain in north Belfast.

His death prompted a huge upsurge of sympathy for Noah and for his family.

Naval Service detains fishing boat off northwest coast

---

Covid-19: Extension to rent-freeze will be short, says Minister

---

Coronavirus: three more deaths and a further 34 cases recorded

---

Covid-19 ‘green list’: US will not be on it and the UK ‘unlikely’, Coveney says

---

While travelling across the city he fell off his bicycle and may have hit his head. He was seen discarding his clothes and then continue to cycle naked, an action his family said was “completely out of character”.

This led to speculation that he may have suffered a head injury that could have been a factor in his entering a storm drain where his body eventually was found.

Andree Murphy, from Relatives for Justice, said the post mortem found the cause of death was drowning and it also revealed that "he did not sustain a severe head injury".

She urged anyone with information, particularly any CCTV, to bring it forward to the PSNI, her organisation or the Belfast law firm, KRW Law.

PSNI Superintendent Muir Clark, who is leading the investigation into Noah’s death, said on Friday evening that police were to carry out a leaflet appeal for information from the public.

Noah is understood to have been on his way to Cave Hill to do some work as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, a self-improvement programme for adolescents and young adults.

Police said there was no suggestion of foul play in relation to his death.