Obamas’ personal chef drowns near family’s home on Martha’s Vineyard

BOSTON - An employee of former President Barack Obama has been identified as the paddleboarder who went missing at Edgartown’s Great Pond on Martha’s Vineyard on Sunday, according to Massachusetts State Police.

Tafari Campbell, 45, of Dumfries, Virginia, was identified Monday evening by state police as the paddleboarder who was found dead. Campbell was employed by former President Obama, and had been visiting Martha’s Vineyard when he died, police said.

Neither Barack nor Michelle Obama were home at their Martha’s Vineyard residence when the incident happened, police said, but the family has issued a statement, according to several news outlets, including NBC10.

“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. Today we join everyone who knew and loved Tafari – especially his wife Sherise and their twin boys, Xavier and Savin – in grieving the loss of a truly wonderful man.”

State police divers located the 45-year-old man’s body about 100 feet from shore and about 8 feet deep underwater just before 10 a.m. on Monday, July 24, the department said.

Campbell had “appeared to briefly struggle to stay on the surface, and then submerged and did not resurface,” state police said in a statement on Sunday.

Martha’s Vineyard police and fire agencies had responded to Great Pond at around 7:45 p.m. in the area of Turkeyland Cove. Another paddleboarder was on the water with Campbell before he went missing and saw him go underwater, state police added.

Several agencies helped with the search, including the Edgartown Fire Department and all other island fire departments, state troopers, detectives and an Air Wing, the Dukes County Sheriff’s Department and the Coast Guard. Local fire department divers and marine assets also searched the pond.

Crews were initially unable to find Campbell and paused their search Sunday night to allow dive teams, flight crews and other responders to assess the next steps in the search, state police said on Monday.

The search used divers and boat crews using side-scan sonar, with aerial support from state police and Coast Guard helicopter crews. Members of the MSP Underwater Recovery Unit and the Massachusetts Environmental Police were also said to have joined the interagency search. The investigation is ongoing.