A former assistant U.S. attorney was found dead inside a San Diego federal building Wednesday evening, shortly after he was reported missing, according to authorities.
Andrew Haden, 48, was discovered in a vacant office at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building at 880 Front St., a downtown location that houses the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of California. The San Diego Police Department responded after receiving a report of a missing man late Wednesday, and located Haden’s body soon afterward.
Police said there were no signs of foul play, and officials indicated that Haden is suspected to have died by suicide, according to the San Diego Tribune.
“Out of an abundance of caution, SDPD investigators responded to the scene, and no foul play is suspected,” San Diego Police Department spokesperson Ashley Nicholas said in a statement. “The official cause and manner of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner.”
Haden had a long career in federal prosecution, joining the U.S. attorney’s office in 2010. Over the years, he twice stepped into the role of acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California during leadership transitions—once in 2023 for roughly two months, and again in 2025 for another two-month period.
Current U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon confirmed Haden’s death in a statement, describing Thursday as “one of the darkest days in our office’s history, but there was nothing dark about Andrew Haden’s life.”
Before his legal career, Haden served in the U.S. Navy for five years, completing two deployments—one in Iraq and one in Liberia.
The Medical Examiner’s office will determine the official cause and manner of death. The investigation remains ongoing, though authorities have suggested they do not suspect criminal activity.
Source: www.thegatewaypundit.com — https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/08/former-us-attorney-found-dead/