Mom of Boy, 14, Found Dead in Storm Drain 6 Days After He Vanished Speaks Out

The mother of a 14-year-old boy who was found dead in a storm drain has said she knew something “wasn’t right” when her son didn’t answer his cell phone, according to reports.

Noah Donohoe left his home in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on his bicycle at around 5:40 p.m. local time on June 21, 2020, before his body was discovered six days later, according to Ireland’s national public service broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Eireann (RTÉ). 

An autopsy has since revealed his cause of death as drowning, per the outlet.

On Thursday, Jan. 22, a hearing into how Noah died opened at Belfast coroner’s court, with his mother, Fiona Donohoe, saying she started to get worried when her son didn’t answer his cell phone, per The Guardian.

She said in a video interview played in court, “My instinct told me something wasn’t right. I was concerned that Noah had been a bit down and more emotional than usual,” according to the outlet.

Donohoe said she’d been “very concerned” about her son’s mental health in the week before his disappearance in a 911 call played in court, made to police to report her son missing, per The Irish Times.

She also explained that she’d seen her son crying earlier in the day before he vanished, but said he “turned to me and said he was laughing,” after she asked him why he was upset, the outlet noted.

Donohoe told the operator that his disappearance was “so unlike him,” adding that he’d never gone missing before, the paper stated. 

“Over the last week, he has not been himself at all. I am really concerned for his safety,” she said, per The Irish Times. “He has been so up and down, his moods have been so out of character. All this day, he’s been really huggy.”

Donohoe said the period between reporting Noah missing and his body being found was a “living nightmare,” per the video played in court, according to The Guardian.

Noah — a student at St. Malachy’s College in the city — had taken a khaki rucksack with him before he went missing, which contained a laptop and a copy of the book 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson, the outlet stated. His mother reported his disappearance to authorities around four hours after he left his home, allegedly to meet friends.

It was later suggested that he’d fallen off his bicycle, with CCTV footage showing him cycling through an area that was approximately three miles from his house, The Guardian reported. It’s believed he hadn’t visited the area before.

The footage also showed that Noah had been cycling naked after discarding his clothing, rucksack and cell phone on the day he vanished, the publication stated. Police previously said there appeared to be no evidence of foul play.

The court was told on Thursday that a child of Noah’s build would have been able to slip through the bars of the entrance of the storm drain where he was found, according to RTÉ.

The coroner had previously released unseen CCTV footage last October showing Noah leaving home in the early hours of the morning at around 3:34 a.m. on the day he vanished, wearing a T-shirt and shorts and carrying headphones, The Guardian reported. He was then seen returning home at around 4:08 a.m. barefoot and without his headphones, the outlet noted.

Noah’s mother said she had no explanation while talking about where he went on that morning, insisting, “I’m holding out hope that this inquest is able to provide me with answers,” per the newspaper.

“The news that he had been out that night took me completely by surprise,” she said, according to RTÉ.

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During Ms. Donohoe’s video statement, which had been recorded earlier this month and lasted around 90 minutes, the single mother paid tribute to her son, insisting, “We were a team in every aspect of our lives together,” per the broadcaster.

“I miss every detail of my beautiful darling Noah,” she said.

Donohue questioned in court whether police turned “a blind eye” to evidence regarding her son’s disappearance that conflicted with a police theory that he’d suffered a concussion after falling from his bike, per RTÉ.

The hearing into Noah’s death is ongoing.

A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesperson said in an email to PEOPLE when asked for comment on the case, “As the inquest is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.”