The autopsy report on the death of former President Barack Obama’s personal chef revealed the cook’s death was accidental, a spokesperson said.
Forty-five-year-old Tafari Campbell went missing on July 23 while paddle boarding on the Edgartown Great Pond on Martha’s Vineyard in the evening. Authorities later recovered his body the next morning.
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security told Fox News Campbell’s cause of death was an accidental drowning due to submersion in a body of water.
A fellow paddleboarder saw Campbell go underwater and struggled to stay afloat before not resurfacing, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Campbell’s body was found approximately 100 feet from the shore the next morning nearly eight feet below the surface, according to authorities.
🔥🚨BREAKING: #DeadBody found at #Obama’s Martha’s Vineyard estate in search for a black 43-year-old male paddleboarder, who drowned in the pond attached to the estate: 911 call was made from ex-President’s $12M property last night.
Follow @CBKNEWS121 FIR MORE UPDATES… pic.twitter.com/O9B7PWxnmC
— CBKNEWS (@CBKNEWS121) July 24, 2023
The Obamas expressed sadness over Campbell’s death, calling him a “beloved part of our family.” (RELATED: Key Questions Surrounding Death Of Obama’s Personal Chef Remains Unanswered)
“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 couple said. “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.”