Overview
- Retired inspector Menary testified that a crowd of hundreds, some hostile, gathered in Northwood Linear Park and it took more than an hour to clear the area before police could begin searching.
- He said political representatives had encouraged people to help and described a visceral atmosphere with speculation ranging from abduction to police involvement.
- Leading the hazardous environment search team, he detailed early tunnel searches where camera checks and then entry were required, and said storm-drain maps did not match conditions on the ground with some access points apparently landscaped over.
- He told the jury the team cleared the non‑tidal stretch, had to suspend a subsequent search because of a rising tide that ‘almost’ reached the area where Noah was later found, and said surviving in the tunnels without clothing would be very challenging.
- Testimony this week also examined earlier phases of the inquiry, including a witness who saw Noah cycling naked and disputes over when he called police, as well as a constable’s admission that clothing was bagged but not forensically sealed and that he was unaware the case was high risk.