The search for former president Barack Obama's personal chef, who drowned while paddleboarding near the former first family's home in Martha's Vineyard, began after another paddleboarder reported that he had gone under the water and not resurfaced, state police said.
The body of Tafari Campbell, 45, of Dumfries, Virginia, was recovered from Edgartown Great Pond shortly before 10 a.m. on Monday.
Emergency services responded to the pond near Turkeyland Cove, where Obama has a summer home, just before 8 p.m. on Sunday after receiving a call about "a male paddleboarder who had gone into the water, appeared to briefly struggle to stay on the surface and then submerged and did not resurface," the Massachusetts State Police said in a statement.
State police said another paddleboarder was on the pond with him at the time and saw him go underwater.
They have not released any further details about the second paddleboarder.
Newsweek has contacted the Massachusetts State Police and the Edgartown Police Department for further comment via email.
The search was paused late Sunday to "allow dive teams, flight crews and other responders to re-equip and assess next steps," the state police said.
On Monday, state police said sonar from a boat located Campbell's body about 100 feet from shore at a depth of about 8 feet.
The state police and the Edgartown Police Department have launched an investigation into Campbell's death.
Campbell was employed by Obama and was visiting Martha's Vineyard at the time of his death, state police said. The former president and his wife, Michelle Obama, were not at the residence at the time.
The Obamas have paid tribute to Campbell, calling him a "truly wonderful man" and 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," the Obamas said in a statement. "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."
The Obamas said they asked Campbell to continue working with them after they left the White House.
He "generously agreed," they said. "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."
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Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on abortion rights, race, education, ... Read more
