A veteran Justice Department prosecutor who twice served as the top federal prosecutor in Southern California was found dead inside a San Diego federal building Wednesday, just hours after authorities received a report that he was missing.<\/p>\n
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden, 48, was discovered inside an office at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building in downtown San Diego, which houses the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of California.<\/p>\n
San Diego police said officers received a missing-person report late Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n
Authorities were subsequently called to an office at 880 Front Street, where Haden was found dead.<\/p>\n
Police investigators responded to the building but said their preliminary investigation uncovered no evidence suggesting criminal activity was involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of an abundance of caution, SDPD investigators responded to the scene, and no foul play is suspected,\u201d a spokesperson said in a statement. \u201cThe official cause and manner of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of Friday, authorities had not publicly announced an official cause or manner of death.<\/p>\n
Haden was far from a newcomer to the Justice Department.<\/p>\n
He joined the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of California in 2010 and spent more than 15 years working as a federal prosecutor.<\/p>\n
During his career, he served in several senior leadership positions, including chief of the Violent Crimes and Human Trafficking Section and chief of the Criminal Division.<\/p>\n
He also served as the office\u2019s first assistant U.S. attorney, effectively making him the second-ranking official in the Southern District.<\/p>\n
Haden ultimately rose to the top position on two separate occasions, serving as acting U.S. attorney during leadership transitions in 2023 and again in 2025.<\/p>\n
Each stint lasted approximately two months.<\/p>\n
News of his sudden death deeply affected San Diego\u2019s federal law enforcement and legal communities.<\/p>\n
U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon described Thursday as \u201cone of the darkest days in our office\u2019s history, but there was nothing dark about Andrew Haden\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n