Body Found in Basement of Missing Woman’s House

Police say a body has been removed from the basement of a missing woman's home.

Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland says investigators from State and Waterville police discovered a body in the basement of 32 Gold Street at around 4:00 Wednesday afternoon. That's the address of Melissa Sousa, a 29-year-old mother who was last seen putting her children on the school bus Tuesday morning.

Sousa shares the home with her boyfriend, 28-year-old Nicolas Lovejoy, and the couple's two children.

Lovejoy was arrested at around midnight Tuesday for having a loaded rifle in his vehicle and for endangering the welfare of a child after leaving the two 8-year-old girls alone.

Police have not said whether the body is believed to be Sousa. It was taken to the State Medical Examiner's office in Augusta for an autopsy to determine identification and cause of death. This case remains under investigation.

We'll update this story, as more details become available.