N.H. College Student Reported Missing After Night Out Drinking is Found Dead

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UPDATE TO BELOW STUDENT DEATH:

The University of New Hampshire student who was found dead in a marshy area near the school’s Durham campus over the weekend died of accidental drowning, autopsy results showed.

Vincenzo “Vinny” Lirosi, 22, of Whitman, Massachusetts, was found dead Sunday after an hours-long search. Officials had said previously that they did not believe the death was suspicious.

Durham police released details from the autopsy Wednesday, saying that the state medical examiner’s office determined Lirosi’s cause of death as drowning and the manner of death as accidental.

Vincenzo Lirosi’s body was found at approximately 1:20 p.m. Sunday by a New England Search and Rescue K-9 team in a marshy area off of Coe Drive in Durham, police said.

Meanwhile, the UNH fraternity that has been temporarily suspended as police continue to investigate the death said in a statement Tuesday that Lirosi had gained access without permission to its “welcome home” event for a member who was returning from military service.

“We are saddened to learn of the death of Vincenzo Lirosi, an uninvited guest who died after leaving an event held by some members of our chapter,” Sigma Chi said. “We extend our sincere condolences to his friends and family. We are fully cooperating with authorities as they investigate the circumstances of his death.”

Durham police said Lirosi was out drinking with friends early Saturday before he went to the fraternity party and got into a fight.

Sigma Chi said Lirosi “gained access to the event without permission, became unruly, and disturbed other attendees. Mr. Lirosi left the event shortly after his arrival and was last seen walking away from the event under his own power.”

The chapter said it is complying with the interim suspensions issued by the Sigma Chi International Fraternity and the university.

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A University of New Hampshire student who was reported missing Saturday after a night out drinking with friends was found dead, authorities said.

The death is not considered suspicious, according to a statement from the school.

The student, Vincenzo Lirosi, 22, was hanging out with friends and is believed to have taken “a path through a wooded area” to get back home, the Durham Police Department wrote in a separate Facebook statement.

Lirosi was last seen around 1 a.m. and was reported missing at 3 a.m. He did not have his phone or identification with him when he vanished, according to police.

A search for Lirosi began and continued into Sunday. Just before 1:30 p.m., he was found dead by a New England Search and Rescue K-9 team in a marshy area off of Coe Drive in Durham, police said in the statement.

The medical examiner will determine the cause and manner of death. The police department and the medical examiner did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.

“Though this is not the outcome we had all hoped for, we are grateful that we were able to find Vincenzo and bring some closure to his family,” Police Chief Rene Kelley said.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Vincenzo’s family & friends. This is a very sad day for our community and right now we are focused on providing the support and resources needed for everyone who knew him or is impacted by his death,” the school’s statement read.

It also addressed reports that Lirosi got into an altercation at an event hosted by Sigma Chi Fraternity prior to him going missing. Michael Blackman, the school’s Dean of Students, said the fraternity was temporarily suspended, which is “common practice when an investigation involves a fraternity.”

“This decision is not the result of an investigation or a formal finding of responsibility, but it is an important step while the Durham Police Department continues its investigation,” Blackman wrote in a letter to students that was shared on Twitter by The New Hampshire, the school’s independent student paper.

The university’s police department wrote: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of Vincenzo and know that this loss will impact his fellow Wildcats. Whether you knew him or not, he was one of us; please take care of yourselves and one another.”

 

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