Police were called to the federal building as authorities investigated Haden’s disappearance.
San Diego police said there was currently no evidence suggesting that another person was responsible for his death.
“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.”
The circumstances surrounding Haden’s death have not yet been fully disclosed.
As of the latest information available, the medical examiner had not publicly determined either the cause or manner of his death.
Haden’s sudden death stunned the federal legal community in Southern California, where he had spent years handling cases on behalf of the Justice Department.
He joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California in 2010 and eventually climbed to the highest levels of the office.
Haden was tapped to serve as acting U.S. attorney on two separate occasions, assuming leadership of the office during transitions in 2023 and again in 2025.
Although both assignments were relatively brief, they placed Haden in charge of federal prosecutions across the Southern District of California, which includes San Diego and Imperial counties.
U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon issued an emotional tribute following the news.
Gordon called Thursday “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 San Diego Union-Tribune. “We will honor his life and legacy by carrying his light forward, today and always.”
Gordon reportedly declined to discuss additional circumstances surrounding Haden’s death, citing respect for the prosecutor’s wife and children.
Haden’s connection to San Diego stretched back decades.
A native of the city, he attended University City High School before leaving California to study political science at Stanford University.
His career of public service began before he entered a courtroom.
Following college, Haden spent five years serving in the U.S. Navy and completed two deployments overseas.
After his military service, he returned home and pursued a law degree at the University of San Diego.
Haden subsequently worked as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan, gaining experience inside the same federal judicial system in which he would later build his career as a prosecutor.
He ultimately joined the U.S. attorney’s office and remained there for approximately 16 years.
News of his death prompted tributes from judges and attorneys who had worked alongside — and sometimes against — him.
Southern District of California Chief Judge Cynthia Bashant described Haden’s passing as a “loss for everyone,” adding that he was “well loved and well respected.”
That reputation apparently extended beyond Haden’s colleagues at the Justice Department.
San Diego defense attorney Jeremy Warren frequently found himself on the opposite side of Haden in federal court, but the professional rivalry developed into a friendship.
“The fact that we remained friends throughout is a testament to the type of guy he was,” Warren told the newspaper, calling Haden’s death “a huge blow to the entire federal community in San Diego.”
The discovery comes as officials continue working to establish exactly what happened inside the federal building.
Authorities have stressed that investigators have not found signs of foul play, an important distinction as questions inevitably emerge following the unexpected death of a senior federal prosecutor inside a government facility.
For now, the most significant unanswered question remains the cause of Haden’s death.
That determination rests with the medical examiner.
Until those findings are released, officials have provided little additional information about the events leading up to Haden being reported missing or how he came to be found inside the office Wednesday.
What is clear is that Haden’s death has left a significant void within San Diego’s federal legal community.
Over a career spanning military service, a federal judicial clerkship, years of prosecution work and two periods leading the U.S. attorney’s office, Haden became a familiar figure inside Southern California’s federal courts.
He was just 48 years old.
Haden leaves behind his wife and children as colleagues across the Justice Department and federal judiciary mourn a prosecutor remembered not merely for the positions he held, but for the relationships he built throughout his years of public service.
