The mystery around former President Obama’s chef drowning while paddleboarding at Martha’s Vineyard deepens as a report reveals he was with a female Obama staffer when it happened.
The unidentified employee allegedly attempted to save Tafari Campbell when he fell off his paddleboard in the pond and then disappeared beneath the surface of the water, according to the Daily Mail.
She reportedly tried to get to Campbell in time but couldn’t and was forced to rush back to shore to ask for help, Massachusetts State Police told MassLive.
The woman got a hold of a Secret Service agent who then called for emergency services from Obama’s estate in Edgartown, according to the Daily Mail. She was reportedly lucid and did not appear to be high or intoxicated but was clearly distraught.
BREAKING NEWS: Obama’s Private Chef, Tafari Campbell, Was With A Female Obama Staff Member When He Drowned Paddleboarding on Edgartown Great Pond ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/gJjX13brJe
— Matt Wallace (@MattWallace888) July 31, 2023
Suspicion surrounds death of personal chef fished out of pond on Obama’s swanky Vineyard estate https://t.co/m89Gzar0u7 pic.twitter.com/WXcyB1gdZi
— BizPac Review (@BIZPACReview) July 28, 2023
Campbell, 45, was not wearing a life jacket according to the witness, officials reported last week.
The investigation into the staffer’s death has been closed and is not considered suspicious. Authorities are still awaiting a toxicology report.
Still, the man’s death doesn’t make much sense. Campbell’s body was found Monday in only eight feet of water and 100 feet from shore following a call to first responders on Sunday evening.
It took rescuers 18 hours to find the body of Obama’s chef Tafari Campbell.
This is despite the fact:
• His body was found just 100ft from the shore
• Was only 8ft deep
• Witness on Paddle Board saw the drowning take place and knew the location of the incident
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 25, 2023
Despite being found close to shore, a multi-agency search continued into the night, not finding Campbell. Fire companies from across the island descended on Edgartown’s Great Pond with boats and divers, along with Massachusetts state police, the Dukes County Sheriff’s Department, and Coast Guard, according to the Daily Mail.
The witness pointed rescuers to where she believed Campbell had sunk out of view. Crews searched the location she brought them to that night but did not find a body. Authorities also searched properties around the pond, hoping that Campbell had possibly made it to shore.
Campbell was located around 10 am the following morning by Massachusetts Environmental Police officers deploying side-scan sonar from a boat.
Also of note is the fact that anyone connected with the chef’s drowning is having their identity withheld and few details are being released. Including exactly why he drowned. Campbell previously posted a video on social media showing himself swimming laps according to the Daily Mail.
The death of Obama’s personal chef, Tafari Campbell, a trained swimmer who drowned in a shallow pond outside the Obama family home while paddle boarding, is strange. What do you think really happened?
On Sunday evening, Martha’s Vineyard police and fire agencies responded to a… pic.twitter.com/XmhppWlukt
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 25, 2023
Martha’s Vineyard police left the reason for the emergency call over the drowning blank in official logs from the night of the accident. It was the only call that came in to have that part left blank.
Edgartown police chief Bruce McNamee told the Daily Mail in an interview that the call log is generated by the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office.
He speculated that the reason for the call being left blank was because the caller from Obama’s property didn’t dial 911.
Official 911 call log reporting drowning of Obama’s private chef left BLANK, and other fishy ‘facts’ … https://t.co/VyeBvC6hRb via @americanwire_
— 66MustangSally (@66MustangSal) July 29, 2023
He also remarked that the address was listed as Wilson’s Landing because that was the public launch used as the command post. When the call came in, authorities didn’t know where the drowning occurred so they used the staging site for the incident location.
When the drowning happened, the Obamas were reportedly not home.
The former president issued a statement last week calling Campbell a “beloved part of our family.”
“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,” the Obamas said in a joint statement.
Campbell was the Obamas’ sous chef at the White House while the former president was in office. He then became Obama’s personal chef after he left office.
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