Search For Body Of Missing UNH Student Temporarily Called Off

Authorities have temporarily called off the search for the body of missing UNH student Elizabeth Marriott Sunday, the Boston Globe reports.

The water conditions around Peirce Island were deemed too dangerous for workers to continue looking for Marriott’s body, according to Assistant District Attorney James C. Vara.

Vara said the 27-acre island, which is about 100 feet off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was reopened to the public. He would not say how investigators were led to the island.

Susan Morrell, a spokeswoman for New Hampshire Attorney General Michael Delaney, said, “We’re following the leads that we’ve been given in the investigation, and that has led us to the island.”

19-year-old Marriott, a native of Westborough, Massachusetts, went missing Tuesday night, and investigators believe she was killed by an acquaintance, 29-year-old Seth J. Mazzaglia. Marriott was studying marine biology at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, and went missing after she left campus to visit friends in nearby Dover.

Mazzaglia will be arraigned Monday morning at 10:45 am in Dover District Court on one count of second-degree murder. Investigators would not comment on how cooperative Mazzaglia had been after his arrest, and have declined to elaborate on his relationship with Marriott.

A vigil was held for Marriott Saturday night in her hometown, and father Rob Marriott addressed more than 100 people who had gathered to remember his daughter.

“Together we created an angel, and she is home in heaven,” Marriott said. The Marriott family released a statement to the public that read: “Please pray for the dedicated rescue professionals who continue to look for Lizzi. We need them to find her and bring her home.”