NEW PORTLAND – The death of a local businesswoman has shattered the accustomed security of residents in this rural town.

In the three small villages that comprise the town of less than 800, people who haven’t locked their doors before are now, Town Manager Andrea Reichert said Tuesday.

State police are calling the death of Louise Brochu a homicide. The 50-year-old mother of a college-age daughter died either late Thursday or early Friday, police said.

Brochu’s body was found by police at 8:30 a.m. Friday after a customer had gone to her wood mill and home on Route 27 and reported her missing.

Brochu, who was trying to sell the property for $2 million, lived on the grounds of the recently closed mill.

But beyond those snippets and a call for information from the public or any possible witnesses, detectives are closely guarding the details of Brochu’s death and their investigation.

“We are still pounding away on it,” said lead investigator, Maine State Police Detective Lt. Gary Wright said. “There’s very limited information that we can give out, and the fact does still remain that nobody is in custody at this point. We put out what information we can without jeopardizing our investigation.”

And so far, police have not said whether they have a suspect in mind or even how Brochu was killed.

The lack of information surrounding the death has created measurable anxiety, residents said Tuesday. Many have expressed the desire for more information to help them make better decisions about what they should and can do, Reichert said.

That a well-known and apparently well-liked resident had been killed is disturbing enough for any small town, but not knowing whether the slaying was random or motive-based is additionally unnerving, said Leslie Hewett, a neighbor to Brochu’s Lemon Stream Road home and business.

“The big thing is we don’t know,” Hewett said. “We don’t expect details but we want to know how we stand; whether it’s a random act or should we fear going to bed at night wondering if we are next. The state police should release some information so we know what kind of danger we face.”

Others said they were outright afraid.

“It scares the living daylights out of me. It was just a couple doors down from here,” said Doris Sibley , another neighbor. Sibley said she was concerned about people driving in to her driveway and parking. “The police in Skowhegan are 45 minutes away,” she said.

One friend of the Brochu family, who asked not to be identified, said that even family members were not being given any details as the investigation continues.

Kristen Ralph, a clerk at Morton’s Store in the nearby village of North New Portland, did say investigators asked her and other store workers to be on the lookout for anybody coming in who had a lot of facial scratches who looked a “little beat up.” In a small town everybody knows everybody, and everybody is talking, Ralph said.

At the local post office, about a mile from Brochu’s business, Vici Anderson said she saw the businesswoman every day and described her as a very upbeat, smiling, happy person.

“It’s hard to wrap your brain around what happened. It’s very scary till they find out who did it,” she said. “We’ve lost the security of being in a small town. People are locking doors, especially people with children and women living alone. We’re concerned whether the person who did it is gone, or is it our neighbor or just a random act?”

Those who knew Brochu remembered a quiet, nice person and a good neighbor. Alice Bixby, lived nearby when Louise lived at her brother Guy Brochu’s house. Bixby said Louise Brochu was kind and quiet but also the type who would have tried to defend herself.

Brochu gave her all to making her business a success, said Reichert, the town manager. New Portland Flooring offered sales of hardwood flooring and had a sawmill, dry kilns and sold lumber. Brochu was also involved with several businesses, she said, including J&L Trucking out of Kingfield, which she ran with another brother, Jim. She was a nice woman who was very dedicated to her work, Reichert said.

“She came in to the town office once and I was busy, so she sat down and helped my son with his homework while she waited for me,” Reichert said.

Clerks at Anni’s Market and Jordan’s Lumber in Kingfield said they knew her only as a customer but commented on what a nice person she was.

“It’s very sad. The town is very shocked and saddened. You never think it will happen in your own town,” said New Portland resident Rosemary Montague. “We need to be more vigilant and to pray for the family.”

Wight said he and the other investigators working the case have empathy and understanding for neighbors and townspeople for wanting to know more about what happened to their friend and neighbor. He also understands that people are frightened but regardless of whether there is an ongoing homicide investigation, they always need to be careful. Police are always advising people to lock their doors and to report any unusual or suspicious activities, he said.

“We understand their concern, and we tell people it’s always in their best interest to take security precautions,” Wright said. “As far as commenting about what type of individual we are dealing with, it’s very early, and we are still trying to decipher some of this.”

Investigators finished most of their on-scene evidence collection during a two-day stretch over the weekend and had sent evidence collected to the state’s crime lab in Augusta for further analysis, Wright said. “We are continuing to follow up with people in the neighborhoods and are following up on any information that comes in.”

State investigators would be back in the area today conducting more interviews, Wright said. “We are basically trying to dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’ that we can.”

He again asked that anyone with information contact the state police at 800-452-4664.