The Chief Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed that 71-year-old Michael Bagiackas of Montpelier drowned after a canoe capsized last week on Lake Champlain near Knight Island State Park.
Bagiackas and a relative, 67-year-old Paul Council of Woodbury, were paddling on October 21 when their canoe overturned. Council swam to safety and reported the incident the next morning. Bagiackas’s body was recovered later that day. Authorities ruled the death accidental.

Northfield fire victim identified as local resident
Vermont State Police have identified the man killed in a Northfield fire early Friday, October 24, as 38-year-old Robert Edson.
Firefighters responded to 346 Water Street at about 5 a.m. and found a camper trailer and nearby home fully engulfed. Edson’s body was discovered inside the camper. Investigators determined the blaze started inside the trailer and was not suspicious. Officials reminded residents to check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms regularly.

South Royalton man cited for leaving scene of crash
Vermont State Police cited 31-year-old Tyler Garrant of South Royalton for leaving the scene of an accident that damaged two mailboxes on South Windsor Street last month.
Police said the crash occurred around 5 p.m. on September 18. Garrant allegedly drove away after striking the mailboxes. Troopers located him on October 26 and issued a citation to appear in Windsor County Superior Court, Criminal Division, on December 9 at 8:30 a.m.

Inmate charged with assault at Marble Valley prison
An inmate at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland has been charged with simple assault after another inmate suffered multiple facial fractures in an October 11 altercation.
Detectives said 20-year-old James Narcisse of Springfield, Massachusetts, assaulted 27-year-old Kevin Simmons of Bennington inside the facility’s Echo Unit. Narcisse, who remains incarcerated on unrelated charges, was cited October 24 to appear in Rutland Criminal Court on December 15.