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Campbell, 45, of Dumfries, Virginia drowned whereas utilizing a paddleboard in Edgartown Nice Pond on July 24, police mentioned.
EDGARTOWN, Mass. (AP) — The drowning demise of former President Barack Obama’s private chef close to the household’s dwelling on Martha’s Winery final month has been dominated an accident by the Massachusetts health worker.
Tafari Campbell, 45, of Dumfries, Virginia drowned whereas utilizing a paddleboard in Edgartown Nice Pond on July 24, the Massachusetts State Police mentioned.
Campbell was employed by the Obamas and was visiting Martha’s Winery. The Obamas weren’t current on the dwelling on the time of the accident.
Campbell’s demise was decided to be an unintended drowning following “submersion in a physique of water,” Timothy McGuirk, a spokesperson for the state Workplace of the Chief Medical Examiner, mentioned Wednesday.
In a press release following his drowning, the previous president and his spouse, Michelle Obama, known as Campbell a “beloved a part of our household.”
“After we first met him, he was a proficient sous chef on the White Home — artistic and keen about meals, and its means to carry folks collectively,” the couple mentioned. “Within the years that adopted, we received to know him as a heat, enjoyable, terribly form one who made all of our lives somewhat brighter.”
“That’s why, once we had been on the point of depart the White Home, we requested Tafari to stick with us, and he generously agreed. He’s been a part of our lives ever since, and our hearts are damaged that he’s gone.”
A fellow paddleboarder reported that Campbell had struggled on the floor, went below and didn’t resurface.
State police mentioned they used sonar from a ship to find Campbell’s physique about 100 ft (30 meters) from shore at a depth of about 8 ft (2.4 meters). Campbell was not carrying a life jacket, police mentioned.
The Obamas mentioned Campbell is survived by his spouse and their twin boys.
Campbell’s demise sparked a frenzy of false claims on social media, as customers shared conspiracy theories and baseless hypothesis about what occurred.