The fellow paddleboarder who was with the Obamas’ personal chef when he drowned near their Martha’s Vineyard compound is also a staffer to the ex-president — and reportedly tried to save the chef from drowning.
The female staffer was with Tafari Campbell the moment the renowned chef fell off his paddleboard and into a pond before disappearing under the water, according to the Daily Mail.
The woman, whose name wasn’t revealed, tried to desperately save her colleague, but didn’t reach him in time, Massachusetts State Police previously told MassLive.
The woman then rushed back to shore where she asked for help, with a Secret Service agent calling for emergency services from the Obama’s estate in Edgartown, sources told the Daily Mail.
Insiders told the outlet the woman was lucid and clear and did not appear to be intoxicated.
The witness said Campbell struggled to stay afloat and wasn’t wearing a life jacket while out on the water, officials said last week.
The 45-year-old’s death doesn’t appear to be suspicious based on the evidence collected in the now-closed probe. A toxicology report is pending.
Campbell was found Monday in eight feet of water roughly 100 feet from the shore of the former commander in chief’s property after first responders received a call about the incident Sunday evening.
The Obamas, who were not home at the time of the drowning, said in a statement last week Campbell was 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,” they said in a joint statement.
Campbell was a sous chef at the White House while Barack Obama was president, and then joined Obama’s personal staff after he left the Oval Office.
