Obama chef ID’d as fatal Martha’s Vineyard drowning victim: report

Tafari Campbell, who was a White House chef while Barack Obama was president and continued working for the couple after his presidency, was identified as a the fatal victim of a drowning near the couple’s Martha’s Vineyard estate, The Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Campbell, 45, of Dumfries, Virginia, was visiting Martha’s Vineyard at the time of his death. The former president and his wife weren’t at the residence at the time of the drowning, police said, according to the report.

He became known as one of the chefs in the Obama White House who used honey from Michelle Obama’s South Lawn garden to brew a White House honey ale.

“Tafari was a beloved part of our family,” the Obamas said in a statement about Campbell’s death.

“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.”

Authorities started searching the waters near the Obama home after receiving reports of a missing paddle boarder on Sunday.

Campbell’s body was found shortly after 10 a.m., recovered from the Edgartown Great Pond by Massachusetts State Police divers.

The divers made the recovery after Campbell’s body was located by Massachusetts Environmental Police Officers “deploying side-scan sonar from a boat.”

Police also said Campbell was found “approximately 100 feet from shore at a depth of about eight feet.

The word "pond" is a misnomer, as the body of water is separated from the ocean by a small reef and makes up about 890 acres and over 15 miles of shoreline.

“The investigation into the fatality is being conducted by the State Police Detective Unit for the Cape and Islands District and Edgartown Police.”

Authorities initiated a multi-agency search at 7:46 p.m. Sunday on the report of “a male paddle boarder who had gone into the water, appeared to briefly struggle to stay on the surface, and then submerged and did not resurface. ... Another paddle boarder was on the pond with him at the time and observed him go under the water.”

Massachusetts State Police divers recovered Campbell’s body at around 10 a.m. Monday from the Edgartown Great Pond after Massachusetts Environmental Police Officers found his body “deploying side-scan sonar from a boat,” according to police.

Campbell’s body was found around 100 feet from shore at a depth of about eight feet, according to police.

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