BANGOR – It took police four days to release the identity of a body found last week in a ditch in rural Hancock County.

It took more than a week for police to classify Tad Howard’s death as a homicide.

And it may take several more days to find out who is responsible for killing the 27-year-old man from Ellsworth.

But Sgt. Troy Gardner, the lead investigator for the case, emphasized in a news conference Wednesday that there are reasons for his discretion.

“Based on the evidence we collected at the scene and based on the information provided by the medical examiner’s office, as well as some evidence we’ve had processed at our crime lab, we’re now treating this as a homicide,” Gardner said at his office in Bangor.

He said he hopes the investigation will wrap up soon, but he didn’t want to specify a timeline.

“There is a reason for what we’re doing,” Gardner said. “I know it’s frustrating, but it’s very important to us. Our goal is to determine who did this. What’s important to us is the integrity of our investigation.”

Howard’s body was found July 9 in a ditch near Scenic Vista, a new subdivision off Route 9 in Amherst, a northwestern Hancock County community of about 230 residents.

It has not been revealed how Howard died or whether he died in Amherst or was dumped there.

Gardner said Howard was from the Ellsworth area originally, but he wouldn’t comment on where Howard was living before he died or if he had ties to the Amherst area.

A service of remembrance was held Tuesday at the Faith Community Fellowship church in Trenton, where family and friends paid tribute to the young man.

Gardner wouldn’t comment on when Howard’s family was told he was the victim of a homicide.

“We’ve had an investigator talking with the family since the beginning, but we don’t want to discuss our interaction with them,” he said.

Police have stressed that Howard’s death is isolated, but Gardner would not say if the man was targeted.

“At no point in time have we had any reason to believe that anyone else is in danger. If we believed there was a threat, we would have acted on that,” the detective said.

Gardner would not say whether police have a suspect or suspects.

“If anyone feels they have information, or if they knew Tad, we certainly would ask that they contact us,” he said. “Whether it’s rumors or whatever it is, we will work to determine whether it’s accurate or not.”