It’s a heartbreaking story that has been making the rounds: divers have found the body of a paddleboarder who went missing in the waters near former President Obama’s sprawling $12 million estate on Martha’s Vineyard.
The man, just 43 years old, went out on Sunday evening with another paddleboarder to Edgartown Great Pond and was last seen wearing all black and without a life jacket.
Witnesses told police he briefly resurfaced as he struggled to stay afloat before eventually submerging again at around 7:46pm.
His paddle board and hat were recovered later that night but his body wasn’t found until 10am Monday morning — approximately 100 feet away from shore in eight-foot deep waters.
This tragedy led to a massive joint-agency search for the unidentified male, which included help from the Massachusetts State Police, US Coast Guard, Edgartown Fire Air Wing, detectives, and Dukes County Sheriff’s Department — all of whom used divers and boats with side-scan sonar in their efforts.
The search was conducted from Wilson’s Landing across Cove from Obama’s mansion while environmental police located the body using sonar from a boat.
The investigation into this man’s death is being conducted by state police with assistance from Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office and Edgartown police.
It remains unclear if former president Barack Obama was currently staying at his Martha Vineyard home during the time of the incident.
UPDATE: The man has been identified as 45-year-old Tafari Campbell from Dumfries, Virginia who worked as sous chef for White House when he first met Barack Obama family.
