Found Deceased NI - Noah Donohoe, 14, North Belfast, 21 June 2020

[MsBetsy]

So what made Linda go out to look at Noah in the first place?

Sounds to me like she is saying quite a few people saw him - but unclear if she means people in her living room or other neighbours in street - and that waist up nothing looked out of the ordinary- just a flash of a kid cycling by on a bike? Why did she go out to look at what was happening? She says he “didn’t appear to be in distress.”

Yes, she said it happened quickly and she just saw him go by in a flash. It does sound like the others who saw him were in her living room, since she said "they" looked again and didn't see him. She said she thought it was just someone joking around, or something like that. She probably went outside because she was curious about what was going on.

 

[Rosiebones]

The two points in this unfortunate scenario that I cannot come up with sensible reason for is why did he take all his clothes off and continue riding and why would he enter the drain system? There have been no factual observations that he was being harassed or chased in either instance.
A possible head injury from his fall would not have produced this behavior so rapidly. The part of the brain that regulates body temperature is the hypothalamus and it is so deep in the brain that it would not have been injured by a traumatic injury to the surface of the brain. That leaves a stroke that injured that very precise small section of the brain/brain stem.
His behaviors over an extended period of time leads me to ask what could have caused him to be so disoriented to time and space without apparent physical limitations.

 

[Thelastleg]

The two points in this unfortunate scenario that I cannot come up with sensible reason for is why did he take all his clothes off and continue riding and why would he enter the drain system? There have been no factual observations that he was being harassed or chased in either instance.
A possible head injury from his fall would not have produced this behavior so rapidly. The part of the brain that regulates body temperature is the hypothalamus and it is so deep in the brain that it would not have been injured by a traumatic injury to the surface of the brain. That leaves a stroke that injured that very precise small section of the brain/brain stem.
His behaviors over an extended period of time leads me to ask what could have caused him to be so disoriented to time and space without apparent physical limitations.

If being attacked, chased, stroke, and head injury are ruled out then I think the elephant in the room has to be drugs. The Post Mortem will confirm or deny this.

 

[Deleted member 238128]

Yes, she said it happened quickly and she just saw him go by in a flash. It does sound like the others who saw him were in her living room, since she said "they" looked again and didn't see him. She said she thought it was just someone joking around, or something like that. She probably went outside because she was curious about what was going on.

I just wouldn’t go out into the street if I seen a kid whizz past on a bike, unless there was something unusual about it.

 

[Thelastleg]

I just wouldn’t go out into the street if I seen a kid whizz past on a bike, unless there was something unusual about it.

Nor me, but I would if I had noticed that someone was completely naked, in distress or being harassed by a group of yobs. If I was worried for my own or someone else safety, I would ring the Police. I think that was a badly written article. Raised more questions than answers.

 

[Deleted member 238128]

The two points in this unfortunate scenario that I cannot come up with sensible reason for is why did he take all his clothes off and continue riding and why would he enter the drain system? There have been no factual observations that he was being harassed or chased in either instance.
A possible head injury from his fall would not have produced this behavior so rapidly. The part of the brain that regulates body temperature is the hypothalamus and it is so deep in the brain that it would not have been injured by a traumatic injury to the surface of the brain. That leaves a stroke that injured that very precise small section of the brain/brain stem.
His behaviors over an extended period of time leads me to ask what could have caused him to be so disoriented to time and space without apparent physical limitations.

Based on the timeline released, if the fall that the motorist observed was the cause of a head injury then that’s approx 14 minutes between falling off his bike to being seen on CCTV headed naked in the direction of the drain. Such a small space of time.

Edit: Unless it’s possible he didn’t enter the storm drain immediately but was instead in the park for some time before entering it?

 

[Whometoo]

Unfortunately I don't think we'll really know what happened. It's all so very strange and tragic. As the funeral is tmw it makes me think they must be quite convinced there's no foul play for it to happen so quickly. If course that's not set in stone. The nakedness and entering the drain are baffling but perhaps local kids do go in those drains. The interview linked previously states there's a drop a few metres in and its pitch black so very easy for a kid to fall down the drop and have no way of getting out again. If nothing else I would hope that much better safety measures are installed around those drains. It's frightening to think they are so easily accessible.

 

[Rosiebones]

Are toxicology reports routinely done in cases like this? If so, the results wouldn't be back for weeks.

 

[Deleted member 238128]

I can’t help but wonder what if Noah hadn’t gone straight to the house that has the storm drain behind it. What were the chances? And with a back gate that was unlocked, giving direct access, to a storm drain that was also unlocked or somehow accessible. What if he’d picked another house and just ended up in a garage or a shed. So tragically unlucky.

 

[MsBetsy]

The two points in this unfortunate scenario that I cannot come up with sensible reason for is why did he take all his clothes off and continue riding and why would he enter the drain system? There have been no factual observations that he was being harassed or chased in either instance.
A possible head injury from his fall would not have produced this behavior so rapidly. The part of the brain that regulates body temperature is the hypothalamus and it is so deep in the brain that it would not have been injured by a traumatic injury to the surface of the brain. That leaves a stroke that injured that very precise small section of the brain/brain stem.
His behaviors over an extended period of time leads me to ask what could have caused him to be so disoriented to time and space without apparent physical limitations.

Symptoms of TBI, including concussion, can begin immediately after a head injury. Each case and every patient is unique. A hit to the head can cause the brain to move back and forth rapidly so it's not just the surface of the brain that is injured. Some patients are immediately confused and disoriented. Other "delayed" symptoms can occur within hours, days or weeks after the injury.

Maybe he was disoriented when he entered the drain system and quickly became lost and could not find his way out. Maybe he became drowsy and fell asleep. If he was dehydrated it may have added to his symptoms.

We don't know how hard he hit his head or if he had a concussion at all, but I would think the autopsy should definitely show any kind of bleeding, subdural hematoma, etc, that may have contributed to his death.

Whether or not officials will share the results with the public I have no idea. They may just give the autopsy results to the family and then it would be up to them to reveal.

Does anybody know how it works when a child in a missing person's investigation dies under unusual circumstances in NI? Is the autopsy commonly shared with the public if there is no foul play?

Investigators have already said they suspect he may have suffered a concussion so maybe they won't reveal any more information unless they have found something to prove otherwise? Idk.

 

[MsBetsy]

I just wouldn’t go out into the street if I seen a kid whizz past on a bike, unless there was something unusual about it.

Well, apparently they could see that he had no shirt on since they were able to see him from the waist up, so maybe they felt that was unusual due to the weather. I am assuming it was not hot outside.

 

[Alyce]

Writing on her Facebook page, health worker Amanda Seenan says she saw Noah shorty after 6pm on Sunday at “the junction of North Queen Street and York Street/Shore Road”. “He fell off his bike in front of my car,” she wrote. “It was a bad enough fall and he jumped up and drove off leaving his coat on the road. I’ve told police everything.


North Belfast woman recalls seeing Noah on Sunday as Communities unite in bid to find missing St Malachy’s pupil

 

[Deleted member 238128]

Well, apparently they could see that he had no shirt on since they were able to see him from the waist up, so maybe they felt that was unusual due to the weather. I am assuming it was not hot outside.

I have a video of my kids playing outside with the hosepipe, in South Belfast, about 30 minutes before Noah was seen falling off his bike. It had been blustery and a bit rainy off and on around 3:30pm but by 5pm it was sunny and they were in shorts and tshirt - it was cooler than it had been though. Our neighbours were BBQing in the garden at the same time. I’ve a photo of my eldest in the garden at 8pm that night too, still in shorts and it’s dry and sunny. I imagine North Belfast would have been similar and I wouldn’t have looked twice if I seen a kid go past with a top off on a bike.

 

[Deleted member 238128]

Messes with your head looking at photos and videos. Video of my kid in the park right beside where I believe Noah lives at 3:54pm on the Sunday and we were there until 5pm. Wish I could jump into it, run over to his house and just tell him to stay home with his mum! Really caught me this whole story and I really do want answers from the river infrastructure department about locks and the width of these storm drains and exactly where about Belfast they are. There’s something similar looking in a foresty area near us.

 

[Deleted member 238128]

From the PeacePlayers family in Northern Ireland and around the world, we send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Noah Donohoe. At PeacePlayers we knew Noah as a participant in our South Belfast Interface League... 1/2
https://twitter.com/peaceplayersni/status/1277897634112512001?s=21

 

[MsBetsy]

I have a video of my kids playing outside with the hosepipe, in South Belfast, about 30 minutes before Noah was seen falling off his bike. It had been blustery and a bit rainy off and on around 3:30pm but by 5pm it was sunny and they were in shorts and tshirt - it was cooler than it had been though. Our neighbours were BBQing in the garden at the same time. I’ve a photo of my eldest in the garden at 8pm that night too, still in shorts and it’s dry and sunny. I imagine North Belfast would have been similar and I wouldn’t have looked twice if I seen a kid go past with a top off on a bike.

I probably would have checked it out if I saw someone go by that fast, especially with no shirt on a day cool enough to wear a jacket. Where I live people don't usually go topless in public unless it's in the nineties or very humid, especially while riding.

I don't find it unusual that she went out to check. Maybe she wanted to make sure there weren't kids running around getting into trouble.

I'm sure those who saw him wish they had noticed that something was wrong and called police sooner.

 

[Deleted member 238128]

I probably would have checked it out if I saw someone go by that fast, especially with no shirt on a day cool enough to wear a jacket. Where I live people don't usually go topless in public unless it's in the nineties or very humid, especially while riding.

I don't find it unusual that she went out to check. Maybe she wanted to make sure there weren't kids running around getting into trouble.

I'm sure those who saw him wish they had noticed that something was wrong and called police sooner.

I assure you it’s a very common sight in Northern Ireland, often regardless of weather. Bit of a local joke at times

 

[Marg from Oz]

Belfast resident tells of seeing Noah Donohoe before he vanished

This woman says she witnessed Noah ride past her home and had disappeared leaving his bike in the street. Then there is another woman who found his bike in her garden. How did the bike get from the road onto another person's property? How far apart do theses two women live?

 

[Whometoo]

Messes with your head looking at photos and videos. Video of my kid in the park right beside where I believe Noah lives at 3:54pm on the Sunday and we were there until 5pm. Wish I could jump into it, run over to his house and just tell him to stay home with his mum! Really caught me this whole story and I really do want answers from the river infrastructure department about locks and the width of these storm drains and exactly where about Belfast they are. There’s something similar looking in a foresty area near us.

I don't think I remember ever seeing anything like these storm drains before in South/East Belfast but I'm wondering now if there are some my area. If a child can fit through those bars or if they are unlocked grills (that def looks like a shiny new padlock) then it's extremely concerning.

 

[Marg from Oz]

So what made Linda go out to see what was happening? She says he “didn’t appear to be in distress.”

Good point. She was in her lounge and went out. WHY? how long did it take her to move from inside her house out onto the road? Bit weird to me.