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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Io Dodds

Obama chef death – latest: Tafari Campbell identified as man who died paddleboarding near Obama’s home

Edgartown Great Pond Foundation
Obama's personal chef brews beer at the White House

A paddleboarder found dead in the water near Barack Obama’s mansion in Martha’s Vineyard has been identified as his personal chef, 45-year-old Tafari Campbell.

Police in Edgartown, Massachusetts, confirmed on Monday morning that the search for a then-unidentified African American man had been called off after a body was recovered from the town’s Great Pond.

Officials later named the man as Tafari Campbell, who had worked for the Obamas at the White House and then afterwards. Police said meither Mr Obama nor his wife Michelle were at home when Campbell died.

“Tafari was a beloved part of our family,” the Obama family said. “Our hearts are broken that he’s gone... 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.”

Campbell’s Instagram account described him as a keen golfer, with numerous photos of finely-presented dishes, videos of him golfing and practicing swimming, and loving pictures of him and his wife together.

Follow live updates below as this story unfolds.

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