SF Gay Man Mourned as Investigation Continues

Friends and family of a young gay San Francisco man who's believed to have died remembered him at a large memorial service as questions remain about what happened to the software developer.

Dan Ha, 26, was last seen at 8 p.m. on Halloween, October 31, leaving his apartment at Fourth and Brannan streets in the South of Market neighborhood, according to friends.

After a body was recovered from San Francisco Bay last Tuesday, November 11, Ha's family held a news conference the next day to announce they believe the body is his, but they don't suspect suicide. As of Tuesday, November 18, staff at the San Francisco Medical Examiner's office said it had not confirmed the body's identity.

Several hundred people filled St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in the Mission district last Friday night for Ha's memorial. The most common themes throughout the evening were Ha's compassion and humor.

His brother, Joseph Ha, who gave the eulogy, said Ha "never outgrew his inner child."

"I blame Dan for my weird sense of humor," he said, adding his brother, "loved life and lived life to the fullest through his many passions."

Besides being a highly regarded software developer and entrepreneur, Ha, who most recently worked at the car-related startup Metromile, was also a gym enthusiast and singer, among other things.

The Reverend Kenneth Ha recalled his son as a young boy giving money to "a street beggar" and cooking for people in a shelter.

"We don't blame God" for the loss, Kenneth Ha said. "... We don't understand, but surely he does."

Ha's mother, Ruth Ha, thanked the people who helped look for her son, and said, "We will see Daniel in heaven."

Mark Ha, Dan Ha's other brother, recalled how Ha had been "crazy good at video games" and used words like "brilliant, talented, loving, tough, passionate" and "downright silly" to describe him.

"I don't think any of us knew Dan fully," Ha said, since he had "so many interests and talents."

Addressing his brother directly, he said, "You pushed me, but you also wanted me to have fun." Ha said he's glad his brother's in a place where "the physical boundaries of your body can't contain your enormous spirit."

One friend of Ha's recalled how the night before they started classes at Stanford University, they'd stayed up until 4 a.m. dancing to songs by the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC.

"Thank you for the countless hours we spent together," the man said.

Another friend referred to Ha's love of fitness and other pursuits.

He recalled Ha once saying, "I think I'm going to get really, really ripped." The man said when he saw Ha later, "All of a sudden, he was just really, really ripped."

He said in another instance, Ha said, "I think I'm going to get really good at making Thai food," and his favorite saying was "You want to try some?"

No note

In the days after Ha went missing, people who knew him blanketed the area near his apartment with fliers bearing his picture and conducted several search parties.

In a statement released last Wednesday, November 12, Ha's family said that it does not suspect suicide. One of Ha's family members said no note was found, and his personal belongings had been found with the body. (Friends of Ha have told the Bay Area Reporter he was gay, and his brother, Mark Ha, has confirmed that.)

Lieutenant junior grade Amanda Faulkner, a spokeswoman for the local U.S. Coast Guard office, said in an email this week that her agency received a report November 11 "of a person in the water showing no signs of life. The report was made by passenger vessel Marin at 7:25 a.m."

A Coast Guard boat from the Golden Gate station and a San Francisco Fire Department boat responded. The fire department boat "was first on scene and recovered the body to turn over" to the San Francisco Medical Examiner's office, she said.

Kelly Alves, of the fire department chief's office, said the agency was dispatched at 7:37 a.m. to Golden Gate Bridge northbound.

"At one point it looks like we were on our way toward Angel Island, over that way," Alves said, but she didn't know the exact location of the body.

Friday, Officer Albie Esparza, a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department, said the case is still an open missing persons investigation.

"Our job is to find the person because they're missing," Esparza said. "... If this person [found in the bay] is in fact Dan Ha, this case is closed, unless the medical examiner believes foul play" was involved, which would make it a homicide case for police. The medical examiner's office isn't likely to publicly release the cause and manner of death for several weeks.

Esparza said he didn't know of any video surveillance footage showing Ha alone or with someone else.

He also expressed sympathy for people who knew Ha.

"It's unfortunate," Esparza said. "... It's a very sad case, but we hope to bring some closure to the family."

In an email Tuesday, he said the Ha case "is still open" and police are waiting for confirmation from the medical examiner.

Anyone with information about Ha may contact the San Francisco Police Department at 415-558-5508 or the anonymous tip line at 415-575-4444. The case number is 140 937 521.

More information is available at http://www.FindDanHa.com.