It was over two months ago that the family of Dan Ha, a software engineer who disappeared in San Francisco on Halloween, announced that his body had been found floating in the waters near Alcatraz. But it wasn't until Sunday, January 25 that the San Francisco Medical Examiner was able to confirm that information.
Ha, who was working as an iOS developer developer at Metromile at the time of his death, was last seen on Halloween. On November 11, the captain of a ferry headed from Sausalito to the Ferry Building spotted Ha's body floating in the Bay.
A day later, Joseph Ha, Dan's brother, said "In speaking with the medical examiner, while the face and body were indistinguishable, the clothes, wallet contents, and phone matched Dan’s personal belongings. At this time, we believe the body is Dan’s."
It wasn't until Sunday, however, that the SF ME's office spokesperson Christopher Wirowek sent a brief email saying that "The San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has identified the person found floating in the San Francisco Bay waters, on November 11, 2014."
"With the assistance of the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Forensic Services DNA Laboratory," Wirowek wrote, "the male decedent has been identified as Daniel Ha, age 26, a resident of San Francisco, California."
According to Wirowek, Ha's family had been notified, and soon after an update was posted to the Find Dan Ha Facebook page:
According to Ha's brother, speaking in November, the family does not believe Ha took his own life, saying "We have no reason to believe that this was a suicide. Dan has never indicated having any intention of harming himself."
"Dan did not leave a note, had scheduled a doctor’s appointment the morning of his disappearance, and was scheduled to attend a work event the next day," Joseph Ha said. "On his desk was even a note to return a shirt he had recently purchased."
Speaking for the ME, Wirowek says that the case remains under investigation, "with the cause and manner of death pending."
Previously: Missing Tech Worker Found Dead In SF Bay
