Barack Obama’s personal chef Tafari Campbell is identified as the man found dead after paddle boarding accident near Obama’s Martha’s Vineyard home.
The body of the former White House sous chef who worked for former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle was found in the seas close to their Martha’s Vineyard house on Monday, according to Massachusetts authorities.
Witnesses first told cops on Sunday night that a man – later identified as Campbell went underwater and then briefly reappeared as he struggled to stay afloat, before submerging again around 7.46pm.
The witness – who was not identified – was paddle boarding on Edgartown Great Pond with Campbell.
A massive joint-agency search was launched when a 911 call was made from the Obama’s Martha’s Vineyard home on Turkeyland Cove Road.
The search resumed Monday morning for the venerated chef who was last seen wearing all black without a lifejacket.
His paddle board and hat were recovered Sunday – and his body was found around 10am in the eight-foot-deep waters approximately 100 feet away from shore at 10am Monday. The body of the former White House sous chef who worked for former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle was found in the seas close to their Martha’s Vineyard house on Monday, according to Massachusetts authorities.
As one of the chefs who created White House honey ale beer while Obama was president using honey from Michelle Obama’s well-known South Lawn garden, Tafari Campbell, 45, joined the former first couple’s staff after they departed the White House.
The 43-year-old vanished on Sunday evening while he was out with another paddleboarder on Edgartown Great Pond, Massachusetts, and emergency crews were dispatched to Obama’s residence.
In a statement, Michelle and Barack Obama said Campbell – who was married with twins – was one of the top chefs in the White House kitchen: ‘Tafari was a beloved part of our family.
‘When we first met him, he was a talented sous chef at the White House — creative and passionate about food, and its ability to bring people together. In the years that followed, we got to know him as a warm, fun, extraordinarily kind person who made all of 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 part of our lives ever since, and our hearts are broken that he’s gone.’
