COQUILLE -- It has been a year since Leah Freeman's body was found on the outskirts of this small town. The community, which was thrown into a tailspin for the first few months of the investigation, has settled down and life has apparently returned to normal.

Coquille was recently named one of the 10 most livable small towns in America by a national travel magazine, but rural ambiance notwithstanding, many Coquille residents say they don't feel safe living in a town with an unsolved murder.

Many residents say they're frustrated and angry at the lack of information and the seemingly slow pace of the law enforcement agencies involved in the case.

Coquille Mayor Mike Swindall said he is as frustrated as others in town, but he knows the Coquille Police are working on the case.

"This hasn't died," Swindall said. "People are still working on it. ... But, I really don't know because they have never said anything to me."

While he feels his family is safe from harm, Swindall said, as a parent, it is a little disconcerting because he lives in the same neighborhood Leah did.

Initially, he and his wife became stricter with their teen-agers.

Swindall said his children are probably safer than many others because his father -- his children's grandfather -- was a state police captain.

"We taught them to be aware of certain things and situations," he said. "But we have lightened up a bit in the last few months."

Swindall said his home is often filled with his son's and daughter's friends, and it seems to him local interest in the case has waned.

"There is an awareness out there, but I get this sense that it's not a big thing to them anymore; that life goes on," he said. "It's a horrible thing to say, but it's true.

"But to me and the rest of the parents in town, this is still a big thing. We have a murderer running around," he added.

Lisa Adkins, manager of Hunter's Eatery & Creamery, said it is scary that a young girl was murdered in Coquille. The frustrating part of the situation is the police cannot catch the person, or people, responsible for it and that someone is out there, Adkins added.

"I have a 10-year-old and a 2-year-old, and they don't go anywhere by themselves," she said. "I used to let the 10-year-old walk to a friend's house alone, but not anymore."

Local teen-agers used to be very careful about not walking alone after dark, she said, but things have changed in the last few months.

"(The local kids) seem a lot more relaxed now," Adkins said. "I see teens walking by themselves all the time at night."

Coquille High School Principal Carl Wilson said that Leah's disappearance and murder will probably always be an issue with the local teen-agers and her close friends.

"I'm sure her friends still have feelings about her and still remember her," Wilson said. "Her close friends are also frustrated about not having any answers. They still remember her and still care. It's frustrating for them to not have answers when there is someone out there (who does)."

Wilson said he has talked to parents and other community members about being safe and not walking home alone at night. Many parents continue to be vigilant, he added, but he does see children and teen-agers walking alone.

"That does cause me some concern," he said. "I feel safe, but in the back of your mind, there is concern for the safety of the kids."

Faye Hopkins, who has lived in Coquille since 1951, said Leah's murder is frustrating for the whole community.

"I think the investigation is going too slow," she said. "Something needs to be done to speed it up. I'm sure (Leah's) folks are beside themselves. This is really frustrating and it makes me wonder if they are even working on it."

Hopkins said she used to feel safe working in her garden during the later evening hours.

"Now I don't do that," she said. "You just don't think something like (Leah's murder) is going to happen here."