A new report has supplied a grim possible answer in the death of former acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden, who was found inside a federal office building after being reported missing.

Sources familiar with the case reportedly said Haden died by suicide by hanging. The official determination from the San Diego County Medical Examiner is still pending.

The first report carrying that detail appeared Friday night:

The New York Post reports that unnamed sources familiar with the case said Haden hanged himself inside an office at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building in downtown San Diego.

The outlet also notes that Haden had been reported missing before officers located him Wednesday evening. An investigation remains open while the medical examiner completes its work.

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Haden had joined the federal prosecutor’s office in 2010 and later led it twice during transitions, serving roughly two months as acting U.S. attorney in both 2023 and 2025. He remained a career prosecutor after both temporary appointments ended.

That distinction cannot be lost: the reported method comes from unnamed sources. It has not yet been entered as the county’s official cause and manner of death.

Police have publicly said they do not suspect foul play. They have released very few details about what investigators found inside the office.

The gap between the discovery and the pending medical ruling was clear in the first wave of public reporting:

Times of San Diego reports that police received a call late Wednesday about a man who was potentially missing. Officers later responded to the federal building at 880 Front Street and found Haden dead inside an office.

A San Diego Police Department spokesperson said investigators went to the scene out of an abundance of caution and that no foul play was suspected. The department left the official cause and manner to the medical examiner.

Haden was only 48 years old. He had spent 16 years as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of California and twice stepped into the district’s top job during leadership transitions.

The loss hit the San Diego legal community hard.

U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon described Haden as a man full of laughter, friendship, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to public service. The office’s statement was shared publicly Friday:

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California documented Haden’s rise through the office when he became first assistant U.S. attorney in 2022, placing him in charge of daily operations and making him the U.S. attorney’s principal adviser.

He joined the office through the Attorney General’s Honors Program in 2010. His assignments included general crimes, major crimes, violent crimes and human trafficking, and leadership of the Criminal Division.

Before entering law, Haden graduated from Stanford University and served five years as an officer in the U.S. Navy. His final naval assignment was as navigator aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay.

He later earned his law degree from the University of San Diego and clerked for U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan.

In 2020, the Justice Department honored him with a nationwide Director’s Award for superior managerial performance, recognizing years of leadership and service inside one of the nation’s busiest and most demanding federal districts. His work included firearms offenses and cases involving crimes against children.

KPBS reports that Chief U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant remembered Haden as well-loved and highly respected. Defense attorney Jeremy Warren, who often opposed him in court, said their ability to remain friends reflected the kind of man Haden was.

Those tributes give this story its human weight. Behind the title was a husband, father, Navy veteran, prosecutor, colleague, and friend whose death has left an entire legal community grieving.

There is no credible public evidence at this point that Haden was killed or that foul play was involved. A reported detail is not an invitation to invent a conspiracy around a family’s tragedy.

It is, however, fair to demand accuracy from every institution involved. The medical examiner’s final ruling will be the official answer, and it should be reported plainly when it comes.

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For now, the available reporting points toward suicide, while the formal medical finding remains unfinished.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

 

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