The death of Obama family personal chef Tafari Campbell has been labelled “not suspicious” as authorities in Martha’s Vineyard revealed that he was not tethered to his paddleboard when he tragically drowned in a pond near the former president’s residence.
Campbell’s body was pulled from Edgartown Great Pond on Monday after witnesses saw him submerge and never reappear. Mr Obama later confirmed that the 45-year-old had worked for his family at the White House and then joined them as their personal chef when his term ended.
Massachusetts State Police said on Tuesday that an autopsy found no evidence that the death was suspicious and no trauma or injuries were found on Campbell’s body. A paddleboarder who was at the pond with Campbell when the tragedy unfolded told law enforcement that the late chef was standing on his paddleboard when he lost balance.
“He was not wearing a personal flotation device and was not leashed to the paddleboard. The fellow paddle boarder tried to swim to Mr Campbell’s location but did not reach him in time,” the police update stated. “The other paddle boarder then swam to shore and notified a person on shore of what had happened.”
MSP said no other updates are expected at this time except for standard toxicology results that are protocol in all autopsies and may take several weeks.
Police told local media that they were called to the Obama house on Sunday night by reports of a man paddleboarding who slipped under the water after a “brief struggle” to stay on the surface. Following an overnight search, his body was found just before 10am on Monday around 100 feet from the shore of Edgartown’s Great Pond.
Campbell had cooked for Obamas during their eight years in the White House and then continued to work for them after Mr Obama left office in 2016.
“Tafari was a beloved part of our family,” the Obamas said in a statement on Monday. “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.”
