NEWINGTON, N.H.

Search for UNH student’s body moves up river

The search for the body of a University of New Hampshire student who disappeared Oct. 9 has expanded to a new section of the Piscataqua River.

The New Hampshire Marine Patrol has been searching the waters around Fox Point in Newington for the body of 19-year-old Elizabeth “Lizzi” Marriott of Westborough, Mass. That’s up the river in tidal waters northwest of where they had been looking, near Peirce Island in Portsmouth.

A 29-year-old UNH graduate was arrested Oct. 13 and charged with killing Marriott, although prosecutors will not say what evidence led them to believe she is dead.

Seth Mazzaglia of Dover was arrested the day after police searched his Dover apartment and a trash receptacle. He is charged with second-degree murder.

BOSTON

Independent investigator sought in drug lab scandal

A call is being made for the appointment of an independent investigator to oversee the probe of the testing scandal at a state drug lab.

The Massachusetts Bar Association and the American Civil Liberties Union were among the groups to sign a letter sent on Wednesday to Attorney General Martha Coakley, asking her to appoint the outside investigator to fully examine what happened at the lab.

Former chemist Annie Dookhan has been accused of mishandling drug samples, potentially jeopardizing thousands of criminal cases.

Martin Healy, chief legal counsel for the bar association, said the crisis calls for a wider investigation to restore public confidence.

A spokesman for Coakley said the letter was under review, but added the office was surprised by the letter because it had been working with defense attorneys to conduct a “fair, complete and transparent” probe.

RAYMOND, N.H.

Woman killed in accident while backing into driveway

Police in Raymond, N.H., say a woman was killed as she was backing into her driveway, sending the car over a slope and onto its roof.

Police said Louise Abelli was pinned inside the car after the accident Tuesday night.

The driveway is elevated and sloped on the left side.

The vehicle went undetected for about 10 hours until sunrise Wednesday, when a neighbor found the 60-year-old woman inside.

HARTFORD, Conn.

Filmmaker Burns involved in tour of regional ‘gems’

Connecticut’s tourism industry is getting a boost from documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.

Burns announced Wednesday that he has partnered with a luxury tour group, Tauck Tours of Norwalk, on an eight-day tour of New England’s “hidden gems,” which will include a stop in Hartford.

Burns, best known for his award-winning documentaries on the Civil War and baseball, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy made the announcement at the Mark Twain House, which will be highlighted on the tour along with the home of Harriet Beecher Stowe.

The bus tour, which will run during the summer and through the fall foliage season, also includes stops at Lexington and Concord and Fenway Park in Massachusetts, a Shaker village in New Hampshire, the Green and White mountains, and at Burns’ studio in Walpole, N.H.

MANCHESTER, N.H.

Man charged with stealing from nuns holding charity fair

Police in Manchester have arrested a man accused of stealing purses and other items from nuns while they were setting up for their annual charity fair.

Police arrested Brendan Ramsey, 25, of Manchester, who had been doing maintenance work for the Sisters of the Holy Cross on Oct. 18, when the thefts were reported.

He was charged Wednesday with multiple counts of receiving stolen property and theft by deception.

Police were able to track purchases made with a credit card from one of the nuns’ purses.

PROVIDENCE, R.I.

Bidders buy most items from failed Schilling firm

More than 1,000 people registered to bid on the remnants of former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling’s failed video game company in an auction Tuesday.

Bidding stretched nearly 12 hours, wrapping up around 10 p.m. The Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. says about 95 percent of the items were sold.

About 400 bidders appeared in person and 600 registered online.

38 Studios was lured to Rhode Island from Massachusetts after receiving a state loan guarantee of $75 million in 2010.

It burned through its money and declared bankruptcy earlier this year.

An EDC spokeswoman says the amount raised will be announced Thursday or Friday, once bidders have picked up their items.

HINESBURG, Vt.

Police close road after blast at a suspected meth lab

A road was closed for several hours Wednesday while police, federal agents and hazardous material experts investigated a possible methamphetamine lab that came to their attention after a man was injured in an explosion the day before.

There was no immediate threat to the public along Texas Hill Road, but it was closed as a precautionary measure while officials investigated, police said.

Jacob Berino, 19, who was injured in the blast, was reported by Hinesburg police to be in fair condition at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington.