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EDGARTOWN (US): The personal chef of former President Barack Obama drowned near the family home on Martha’s Vineyard.
Massachusetts State Police confirmed that the paddleboarder whose body was recovered from Edgartown Great Pond on Monday was Tafari Campbell, 45, of Dumfries, Virginia. Campbell was appointed by Obama and was visiting Martha’s Vineyard. Obama was not present at the home at the time of the accident.
In a statement, the former president and his wife Michelle Obama called Campbell a “beloved part of our family.” The couple said, “When we first met him, he was a gifted chef at the White House – creative and passionate about food, and its ability to bring people together.”
“In the years that followed, we came to know him as a warm, funny, extraordinarily kind man who just made our lives a little brighter.” “That’s why, when we were getting ready to leave the White House, we asked Tafari to stay with us, and he generously agreed. He’s been a part of our lives ever since, and our hearts are broken that he’s gone.”
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The search for the missing paddleboarder began on Sunday after a fellow paddleboarder reported that he struggled to surface, went down and did not re-surface.
The search was halted late Sunday, but on Monday state police said sonar from a boat found the body about 100 feet (30 m) from shore at a depth of about 8 feet (2.4 m). Police said Campbell was not wearing a life jacket.
