Add The California Post on Google The search for a US Assistant Attorney has ended after he was found dead in a San Diego federal building.
Local police discovered former Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden, 48, dead inside an office at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building Wednesday, but ruled that no foul play is suspected.
Haden was reported missing earlier in the day Wednesday and his body was found hours later.
The medical examiner will determine the cause and manner of Haden’s death.
Haden joined the US attorney’s office in 2010 and twice stepped in as acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California during leadership changes, serving roughly two months in both 2023 and 2025.
“Out of an abundance of caution, SDPD investigators responded to the scene, and no foul play is suspected,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “The official cause and manner of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner.”
Haden had taken over as the Southern District of California’s acting head attorney twice in recent years — during two months in 2023 and another two-month stint in 2025.
Southern District U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon mourned Haden’s death in a statement to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Gordon said Thursday was “one of the darkest days in our office’s history, but there was nothing dark about Andrew Haden’s life.”“He was a beacon of light — full of laughter, friendship, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to serving our community,” Gordon told the outlet. “We will honor his life and legacy by carrying his light forward, today and always.”
Gordon held a meeting within the office on Thursday with staff and emailed all of them to inform them of Haden’s death, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
He did not disclose details out of respect for Haden’s wife and children, the outlet reported.
Haden had a long history in San Diego — he was raised there and graduated from University City High. He then went to Stanford University in the Bay Area and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science.
The former prosecutor then had a five-year-long stint in the Navy, deploying twice overseas.
He then dipped his hands into law at law school at the University of San Diego, and served as a court clerk for U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan in the Southern District of California.
Southern District of California Chief Judge Cynthia Bashant told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the news is a “loss for everyone,” describing him as “well loved and well respected.”
Defense attorney Jeremy Warren, who often faced off with Haden in court, told the newspaper that “the fact that we remained friends throughout is a testament to the type of guy he was,” calling his death “a huge blow to the entire federal community in San Diego.”
