Officials recovered a man's body from Lake Lillinonah in Bridgewater this morning, police said.
The Bridgewater Fire Department, state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, State Police and New Milford Police Department reported to 100 Lake Lillinonah Road after a homeowner reported a body floating in the lake.
A Bridgewater fire boat recovered the body and officials are working to identify it, police said.
"The clothing is hard to identify at this point because of the conditions of the dirt. The water was muddy and the clothing was rather stained at that point," said Camejo.
Family members of missing New Milford photographer Eric Langlois were gathered at the lake this morning hugging, and crying and praying. Officials said the family was out searching for Langlois when the body was found.
"They're heartbroken," said Environmental Conservation Police Capt. Raul Camejo, of Langlois' family. "They were hopeing that we were going to find him someplace along the shoreline just waiting for a rescue party to come and get him."
The body was located at the north end of the lake, not far from Lovers Leap State Park, near where Langlois, 33, was last seen. Langlois disappeared a week ago today.
The search began last Tuesday when a jogger called 911 after seeing a man fall into the lake in Lovers Leap State Park, police said. Langlois had returned to the area in search of a mountain bike he'd lost the previous day. He never returned, police said.
Search parties scavenged the area for days, pausing briefly to wait out Thursday's flood conditions. The state DEEP decided to scale back the search on Monday after finding no evidence of Langlois or his body. Friends and family members held a vigil for Langlois last night.
The state medical examiner should make an official identification within the next day or two.