Barack Obama's personal chef drowned near the former president's Martha's Vineyard home

The Massachusetts State Police reported that the body of Tafari Campbell, Barack Obama’s former chef, was found Monday in the pond behind the former president’s property in what appears to be a paddleboarding accident.

The 45-year-old man was reported missing Sunday night by a fellow paddleboarder who saw him go under and not resurface. The search was initiated with the help of firefighters, police and members of the Coast Guard, including divers and sailors. But it was an Environmental Police boat that found the body after deploying side-scan sonar.

“The recovery was made approximately 100 feet from shore at a depth of about eight feet,” officials stated, highlighting that an investigation into Campbell’s death is being carried out and that the Cape and Islands District State Police Detective Unit and the Edgartown Police are in charge.

A former Obama employee

Campbell was a married man with 19-year-old twins who worked as a White House chef for Barack and Michelle Obama and even continued to cook for the couple when they relinquished the official residence of the presidency in 2017.

“Tafari was a beloved part of our family. 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,” the Obamas said, noting that it was precisely because of his talents that they decided to ask Campbell to continue working for them.

“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,” the Obama family said.

According to the police report, Campbell was visiting Martha’s Vineyard at the time of his death, and neither Barack nor Michelle Obama was at the residence when the incident occurred.