Former US President Barack Obama’s personal chef’s body has been recovered from a lake near the ex-President’s home on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts state police said.
A two-day search went on for Tafari Campbell, 45, after a male paddle boarder was seen struggling to stay on the surface and later went underwater in Edgartown Great Pond. Campbell was employed by the Obama family and was visiting Martha’s Vineyard. “Another paddleboarder was on the pond with him at the time and observed him go under the water,” a police report said. The Obamas were not present at their place at the time of the accident.
The search for Campbell was paused late on Sunday. However, later a sonar from a boat located the body at approximately 10 am about 30 metres from shore at a depth of about 2.4 metres, the police said. Campbell was reportedly not wearing a life jacket.
Obamas’ reaction to Campbell’s death
Campbell had been a sous chef at the White House and came to work for the former President’s family after Obama completed his second term in 2016, the former President and his wife, Michelle Obama, said in a statement Monday.
Reacting to Campbell’s death, the Obamas said that he was a “beloved part” of the family. “He was…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,” they added.
Campbell is survived by his wife, Sherise, and their twin boys.
The police are investigating his death.
(With Agency Inputs)