Woman who saw boy, 14, cycling naked thought it was 'prank' before he went missing
Teenager Noah Donohoe was found dead six days after vanishing in June 2020
A woman witnessed teenager Noah Donohoe cycling naked through the streets, believing it to be a 'prank' at the time.
On 21 June 2020, 14-year-old Noah left his home in South Belfast, telling his mother he was cycling to meet friends.
The teenager would remain missing for a further six days before his body was recovered from a storm drain, around 600 metres downstream from where he was last sighted.
An inquest into Noah's death is currently taking place, with a witness telling a court how she'd seen the teenager cycling naked through residential streets before realising he was missing.
Advert
Giving evidence at Belfast Coroner's Court, Kerry Fraser said that she'd spotted Noah cycling through the window of her partner's house, but had initially believe it to have been a prank.
"He was totally naked," she told the court. "I thought it was a man who had had too much to drink on Father’s Day and was having a prank."
Fraser went on to state that Noah had not appeared to have been distressed but was 'cycling quickly'.
"I got up and went to the window and looked out, but he was away," Fraser said, adding that she believed he'd gone into one of the houses.
Fraser said that after exiting the house she'd found grey shorts, white boxers and a pair of trainers 'placed neatly against the wall'. She'd also seen the teenager's bike on the ground further up the street there was no sign of the person who'd been riding it.
She didn't realise the teenager was missing Noah until later on, telling her son to contact the police.
Fraser wasn't the only person to see Noah on the street, as fellow resident Karen Crooks had previously told the inquest of how she found the teenager's bike outside her house the very same evening.
Crooks explained that she'd spotted the mountain bike and propped it up, later contacting the police after seeing a social media post regarding Noah's disappearance.
"I realised the bike described matched the bike in my driveway," she recalled.
Crooks was also questioned by a barrister for the Department of Infrastructure as it was possible to access the water culvert where Noah's body was recovered through a gate on her property.
It was previously revealed that it was possible for the public to access the storm drain through an unlocked grate, per BBC.
Meanwhile a third witness had previously told the court that she'd seen the teenager fall from his bike on the evening he'd disappeared.
"It’s pretty bad, not horrifically bad, but it wasn’t just a light fall to the side or whatever, he did go forward," read a police statement from Amanda Seenan.
She added that she was unable to see if Noah had sustained any injury as he'd gotten back on to his bike and cycled off.
The inquest continues.
Brenna Cooper