A former White House chef was discovered dead on Monday after going missing while paddleboarding close to the vacation home of ex-US President Barack Obama, according to Massachusetts State Police.
Tafari Campbell, the Obama family’s personal chef, was found dead in a sizeable lake on the Martha’s Vineyard island by divers.
Campbell, 45, was paddleboarding on Sunday when he vanished beneath the surface.
Obama bought a multi-million dollar waterfront home on the northeastern US island after leaving the White House, where he frequently vacationed with his family both before and during his time in office.
The Massachusetts State Police said in a statement on Sunday that officers responded to a call about a male paddle boarder who had entered the water, appeared to struggle for a moment to stay on the surface, then submerged and did not resurface.
The body was discovered the following morning and identified later that day after a nightlong search.
Prior to working as a personal cook for the Obamas, Campbell served as a sous chef in the White House, according to US media.
According to police, “the former president and his wife Michelle Obama were not at home at the time of the accident.”
Representatives for the Obama family did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
The Obamas described Campbell as “a beloved part of our family” and expressed how “their hearts are broken that he is gone” in a statement that was distributed by numerous US media outlets.
