Authorities would not immediately say how Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan P. Luna died.

Authorities had launched a search earlier in the day after Luna did not show up for the trial, and they would not comment on the possibility of foul play.

"Our office is doing everything we can to assist the U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating his death," U.S. Attorney Thomas DiBiagio said in a statement. "We will have no further comment on the ongoing investigation at this time."

Lancaster County Coroner Barry Walp said Luna was found dead in the county sometime Thursday. Lancaster is about 55 miles northeast of Baltimore.

Luna was trying the case of Baltimore rapper Deon Lionnel Smith, 32, and his one-time associate Walter Oriley Poindexter, 28. The two men are accused of heroin distribution and running a violent drug ring in part from their Stash House Records studio. Their trial began Monday.

Defense attorney Kenneth W. Ravenell declined to comment.

Luna has also tried the case of a man who videotaped a neighbor child as she slept in her home. He also handled the case against a man who plotted to burn down a home to force six Mexican men out of a neighborhood. The defendants in both cases entered guilty pleas.