A woman found Noah Donohoe's phone ditched in a road verge before the missing schoolboy was found dead in a storm drain, an inquest has heard.
Noah, who loved music and reading, disappeared on June 21 2020 after leaving his home in Belfast, Northern Ireland on his bike to meet friends.
The 14-year-old was last seen naked walking in the direction of Northwood Road in the north of the city at around 6pm. His body was found 600 metres downstream close to the M2 motorway six days later.
Adelaide Armstrong told Belfast Coroner's Court she was walking in Castleton Park on June 22 2020 when she saw a black mobile phone lying in a grassy area.
She said: 'I checked and the phone was off, and I took it home to charge and see if I could contact the owner.'
She said she later turned the phone on and saw a message from police asking Noah to contact them.
Ms Armstrong said she also tried to use it to phone the missing schoolboy's mother Fiona Donohoe after seeing there were missed calls on the phone from a number listed as 'Mum'.
She said: 'I think I actually tried ringing that number first, and was just ringing out. And then I saw another number, and I tried to ring that, that was the police.'
A woman found Noah Donohoe's phone ditched in a road verge before the missing schoolboy was found dead in a storm drain, an inquest has heard.
The witness said she also tried to use his phone to call the missing schoolboy's mother Fiona Donohoe after seeing her missed calls.
Ms Armstrong added she remembered that the screen of the phone was broken and it was possible that it had been thrown into the park as it was found near the park railings.
A PSNI officer has told an inquest that he attended Noah Donohoe's home in Belfast and met his mother on the evening the schoolboy disappeared in 2020.
The officer, who was a constable at the time, said he was made aware of a missing person investigation on the evening of June 21 2020.
He told Belfast Coroner's Court that he spoke with Fiona on the phone and later attended her home address in south Belfast.
Reading from his statement about Noah's disappearance, the officer said: 'It was also noted that this type of behaviour was completely out of character for the missing person and he would usually be home, long before 10pm.
'He had no access to cash or access to a vehicle, apart from his bicycle.'
He said Ms Donohoe told him that her son had been very emotional earlier in the day.
The officer told the court he took a photograph and returned later to provide updates to Ms Donohoe.
The inquest into the teenager's death is now in its third week at Belfast Coroner's Court and Noah's mother Fiona Donohoe has attended every day of the proceedings.
On Monday, the court heard from residents of Northwood Road, which is close to the drain and the spot where the teenager was last seen.
One witness said he had been visiting a relative there on the evening Noah went missing and as he was leaving he saw a black bike sitting on its side on the footpath.
He said the following day when he finished work he noticed a black helmet on the street and alerted police after seeing a social media post about a missing boy. He told the inquest he did not see Noah in the area.
Last week, the inquest heard from Noah's friends and witnesses who had seen the 14-year-old cycling on his bike.
One witness told how she saw Noah cycling naked on Northwood Road before he disappeared, and another said she discovered his bike outside her house.