Overview
- Belfast Coroner’s Court heard police received a phone location at about 3:18am on June 22 but relayed it to Community Rescue Service teams around 11am.
- Sean McCarry testified he was first contacted by police at roughly 3:40am with no guidance beyond Cavehill and said time equals survivability in missing-person searches.
- Under questioning for Noah’s mother, he agreed that earlier phone data paired with CCTV might have redirected resources sooner, though any impact remains unknown.
- He said a culvert near Northwood Road was unlocked and easily opened and recommended a confined-space search; a harnessed volunteer entered briefly before withdrawing for safety.
- He noted Noah’s body was later found about 1,000m inside the storm drain after six days missing, and a post-mortem recorded drowning as the cause of death.