The state medical examiner has confirmed that the body foud in Lake Lillinonah Tuesday morning is that of missing New Milford photographer Eric Langlois.
Langlois, 33, disappeared June 11 when he returned to Lovers Leap State Park in search of a mountain bike that had fallen into the water a day before. The search for Langlois when a jogger called 911 after seeing a man fall into the lake, 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 Tuesday morning after a homeowner reported a body floating in the lake.
A Bridgewater fire boat recovered the body, police said.
Family members of the missing photographer gathered at the lake hugging, and crying and praying while his body was recovered. 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 hoping 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 was last seen.
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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 earlier this week.
