Noah Donohoe: Body found in search for missing teenager

Noah had been missing for almost a week

A body believed to be that of the missing Belfast teenager Noah Donohoe was found in a storm drain, police have said.

The 14-year-old was last seen close to the Shore Road in north Belfast last Sunday evening.

A body was found at 09:45 BST on Saturday in the 1km-long drain. Specialist officers had been searching it since the teenager disappeared.

Supt Muir Clark said he did not believe there was any foul play.

He added: "While we have no official identification, we believe it is the missing teenager Noah Donohoe.

"Our thoughts and sympathies are with Noah's family and we are continuing to provide support to them at this very difficult and heartbreaking time.

"It is disappointing that I, again, need to comment about people circulating a number of rumours about Noah's disappearance which are completely without foundation.

"This type of commentary and rumour is distressing for Noah's family and unhelpful."

A body believed to be that of missing Belfast teenager Noah Donohoe was found in a storm drain on Saturday morrning

On Friday, police found Noah's backpack, book and laptop after receiving information from the public.

The recovered items were a khaki rucksack containing a Lenovo laptop and a copy of the book 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson.

Police have previously said he might have fallen from his bicycle and sustained an injury, causing him to remove his clothing.

Floral tributes left at the gates of St Malachy’s College on Saturday

On Friday, Supt Clark said it was "still unclear" as to why Noah, who was from south Belfast, was in that part of the city.

'Heartbreaking news'

Specialist teams, police and community rescue services as well as hundreds of volunteers have been involved in the search for the St Malachy's College schoolboy over the past number of days.

Sean McCarry, from Community Search and Rescue, described the outcome as a tragedy.

Specialist teams, police, and community rescue services were involved in the search for Noah, along with hundreds of volunteers

"We have to keep going until we find somebody," he said, "and the sadness of this, and I can see it in the faces of our volunteers and I am sure it is the same for the police officers but it is most definitely the same for his family and friends."

North Belfast MP John Finucane said: "This is tragic and heartbreaking news for his family and friends and all who knew him, as well as the entire community who were involved in the search for him over recent days."

Anyone with information about Noah is urged to contact the PSNI's major incident public portal - a 24-hour online reporting platform.

Meanwhile, police investigating the teenager's disappearance have charged a 26-year-old man with improper use of public electronic communications network in relation to social media posts.

He is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates' Court next month.