After going missing while paddle boarding close to former US President Barack Obama’s vacation home, a former White House chef was discovered dead on Monday, according to Massachusetts State Police.
Tafari Campbell, the Obama family’s personal chef, was found dead in a sizable 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 property on the island in the northeast of the US 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 for a male paddle boarder who had gone into the water, appeared to struggle for a moment to stay on the surface, and 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 investigators, the former president and his wife Michelle Obama were not at home when the accident occurred.
Representatives for the Obama family did not respond immediately to an AFP request for comment.
In a statement carried by several US media outlets, the Obamas called Campbell “a beloved part of our family” and said that their “hearts are broken that he’s gone.”
