Overview
- PSNI Sergeant Hutchings testified he viewed the culvert as a low‑probability location and said there was nothing to suggest Noah had gone inside the pipe.
- He said Community Rescue Service alerted him to the area on Monday night, adding he would have initiated an earlier search had he fully appreciated the culvert’s significance then.
- The officer directed a search of the storm drain on June 23, 2020 after discovering the hatch could be opened, using cameras and trained officers, pausing for rising water, and later involving the PSNI diving team.
- He told the court Noah’s body was located at about 10am on June 27 and said the operation was conducted as safely and methodically as conditions allowed.
- Department for Infrastructure witness Owen McGivern described pitch‑black conditions inside the culvert, confirmed desilting had been halted due to contamination and Covid disruption, and accepted the debris screen allowed human access with some residents able to reach the area from back gardens.