Obamas' chef who drowned while paddleboarding wasn’t wearing life vest, no foul play suspected, police say

The Obamas’ personal chef who drowned Sunday while paddleboarding near the former president’s home on Martha’s Vineyard was not wearing a life vest and no foul play is suspected in his death, Massachusetts State Police said.

The body of Tafari Campbell, 45, of Dumfries, Virginia, was recovered Monday morning from Edgartown Great Pond after an extensive search. 

A paddleboarder who was with Campbell told investigators they’d seen him standing on his paddleboard and lose his balance before falling into the water. The paddleboarder said Campbell struggled to stay afloat before submerging. Investigators were told Campbell was not wearing a personal flotation device.

The fellow paddleboarder told investigators they tried to swim to Campbell’s location but couldn’t reach him in time. The paddleboarder swam to shore and asked someone to call 911. The Dukes County Regional Emergency Communications Center initiated an immediate emergency search and rescue response by multiple public safety agencies. 

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The search was paused late Sunday but on Monday state police said sonar from a boat located the body about 100 feet from shore at a depth of about 8 feet.

The on-scene observation of the victim by State Police personnel and the post-mortem examination by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner revealed no external trauma or injuries.

Though a 911 call came from the Obamas’ home, the former president and his wife, Michelle Obama, were not present at the time of the accident. Fox News Digital has requested an audio recording of the 911 call. 

The Daily Mail on Tuesday published photos of Malia and Sasha Obama leaving Marth’s Vineyard. 

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In a statement, the former president and his wife, Michelle Obama, called Campbell 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," 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."

"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."

The Obamas said Campbell is survived by his wife and their twin boys.

Campbell is not the first former White House chef to drown. In June 2015, Walter Scheib, an executive chef at the White House who served former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, drowned while hiking a trail in Taos, New Mexico. 

Fox News' Bryan Llenas and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Hillary Clinton shredded for tweet blaming 'MAGA Republicans' for heat wave: 'She's broken'

Hillary Clinton's widely derided remarks blaming Republicans for the heat wave gripping the United States were indicative of a "broken" politician and "sore loser," "Outnumbered" panelists said on Tuesday.

Clinton went viral after blaming record temperatures in the U.S. on Republicans, tweeting, "Hot enough for you? Thank a MAGA Republican. Or better yet, vote them out of office." Clinton's social media post came in response to a tweet from left-wing think tank Center for American Progress which stated "MAGA Republicans are pouring fuel on the climate crisis fire."

"Outnumbered" guest Lee Zeldin, the Republican who narrowly lost last year's New York gubernatorial race, said Clinton was seeking to further divide with the incendiary remark.

"She’s broken, but what's crazy about this is how much is how much of this is deliberate tactics to win political campaigns and get power. They need to divide people," Zeldin said. "They need to fire up their base and getting them to blame the other side. You can never have a United States of America with this kind of approach. And if you're that passionate about climate change, why aren’t you talking about China and these other nations that ramp up emissions… She’s been broken by the right, but a lot of this is deliberate as a tactic to gain more power, and that's the worst part of it because it will continue to fracture our country." 

HILLARY CLINTON BLAMES ‘MAGA REPUBLICANS’ FOR MAKING IT HOT OUTSIDE

"The Faulkner Focus" host Harris Faulkner noted Clinton made the term "deplorables" an infamous political phrase.

"Do you really think she cares? I’m not under this illusion that she cares about anyone other than herself," Faulkner said.

Fox News contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier agreed with Zeldin, adding it was disingenuous to fret over climate change without bringing up polluters like China and India.

"I’m tired of people in general politicizing everything from COVID to climate change to other things," she said. "Unless you're going to say in the same tweet that you want to call out China and India and many others, not just MAGA Republicans, because their fraction of carbon emissions is much lower than the rest of these people that she continues to be soft on."

Host Emily Compagno noted Americans suffering under the heat wave face true difficulties that Clinton was trivializing.

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"This is dangerous," she said. "Americans are at risk, especially the elderly and the infirm who have issues with air conditioning systems and the like. For her to come out and self-serve in such a trite, polarizing fashion also really undermines the severity of this that all Americans are facing."

Panelist Cassie Smedile quipped Clinton likely tweeted her comments from a private plane; conservatives have poked liberals in the past for demanding others address climate change while enjoying the luxury of private jets.

"She's a sore loser and being a sore loser continues to define who she is today," Saphier added.

Zeldin said her post-2016 trajectory had essentially destroyed her legacy.

"These later years where she lost, and she just kept doubling, tripling down in way that made her even less and less of a stateswoman," Zeldin said. "There was a certain track she was on in her career for herself and she just blew it all up."

Fox News' Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.

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