EXCLUSIVE: Tafari Campbell was paddle boarding with a female Obama employee who was trying to help him when he fell off and tragically drowned in Martha’s Vineyard
A female Barack Obama staff member had been with chef Tafari Campbell when he tragically drowned while paddle boarding in a pond next to the former president’s Martha’s Vineyard estate, DailyMail.com has learned.
The woman, who was on a separate paddleboard, had unsuccessfully tried to reach Campbell after he fell off, but was eventually forced to return to shore to call for help.
It was a Secret Service agent who then called emergency services from the Obama compound in Edgartown to report the incident, sources told DailyMail.com.
Ashore, the witness spoke to investigators and was clear and distinct, according to insiders, he showed no signs of intoxication.
Tafari Campbell, pictured with his wife Sherise, was supping with a female Obama staff member when he fell off and drowned in Edgartown’s Great Pond on July 23.
Michelle and Barack Obama both played sports on Friday, five days after the tragedy. Michelle played tennis with a friend while the former president wore bandages on his fingers to improve his golf grip
Edgartown Great Pond. Campbell’s body was found last Monday morning – 15 hours after falling into the water
However, more than a week after the drowning on Sunday, July 23, authorities are still releasing only loose details of the incident, while withholding the names of virtually everyone involved.
The first call came at 7:46 p.m., when police and firefighters responded to a report that 45-year-old Campbell, an Obama aide living in Virginia, had fallen off his paddleboard, struggled briefly to stay afloat, and then submerged . .
Videos posted to Campbell’s social media show him to be a skilled swimmer
State police reported another paddle boarder on the pond with Campbell watching him drown.
Sources tell DailyMail.com that the witness spoke to police at the scene, describing her as devastated but also seemingly sober and sober.
The multi-agency search continued into the night, with fire companies from all over the island descending on boats and divers to Edgartown’s Great Pond, along with Massachusetts State Police, the Dukes County Sheriff’s Department and the Coast Guard.
The witness sent rescuers to an area where Campbell was believed to have perished.
Crews diligently searched the site that night but found no body. Authorities also searched property around the pond, hoping Campbell might have made it to shore.
Campbell was located around 10 a.m. the next morning by Massachusetts Environmental Police officers deploying side-scan sonar from a boat.
Salvage participants described the bleak scene as the body was lifted by divers and hoisted onto a fireboat, placed in a bag and covered with a tarpaulin.
Campbell was taken to Wilson’s Landing, the public launch that served as the command post, where a Secret Service agent identified the body as the missing chef
Emergency services rushed to the scene in Martha’s Vineyard on July 23 after a witness came back to shore and called for help
Campbell’s lifeless body was taken to Wilson’s Landing, the public launch that served as a command post, where a Secret Service agent identified the body as the missing chef, sources said.
At the time of the drowning, Barack and Michelle Obama were out of the house.
It’s unclear whether Obama’s daughters, Sasha, 25, and Malia, 22 — who were also on the island — were at home, or out with friends or their parents.
Several participants in the search said they did not see the Obamas at the scene when the body was recovered, but did see several Secret Service agents who were described as communicative and helpful.
Authorities have closely monitored the release of information.
The Martha’s Vineyard Police Department even left the reason for the emergency call blank in the official logs from the night of the accident. The reason for every other call that night is given.
Edgartown Police Chief Bruce McNamee told DailyMail.com that the call log was generated by the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office, which has not responded to requests for information.
He could only speculate why the reason for the call has been left blank, saying it could be because the caller from Obama’s property did not dial 911, which automatically generates location data, but instead dialed directly to a business line .
Campbell first joined the White House Chief of Staff under the George W. Bush administration
Relatives said he has always had an interest in cooking and would regularly come up with something when his large family came to visit
Malia and Sasha Obama — who were also in town at the time of Campbell’s death — were seen leaving Martha’s Vineyard last Tuesday, the day after the chief’s body was recovered
He also said the address was listed as Wilson’s Landing because that was the public launch used as a command post. At the time the call came in, authorities did not know where the drowning occurred, so they used the staging area for the location of the incident, the chief said.
The drowning is determined to be a tragic accident. There were no signs of foul play. Toxicological investigation is pending.
The water was only seven feet deep where Campbell was found. Police said he was not wearing a life preserver and was not leashed to his board.
However, he did know how to swim, as evidenced by a video he posted on social media of him swimming laps.
The lack of public information has led to widespread speculation and allowed conspiracy theories to run wild.
Sasha and Malia Obama flew off the island on Tuesday, while the former president and First Lady, who spent their summer at their $12 million estate, resumed some of their normal activities.
On Friday, Michelle Obama spent her morning playing tennis at the local Farm Neck country club, while her husband played golf at the members-only Vineyard Golf Club.
The former president wore bandages on his fingers on his left hand, but this is believed to be more to improve his grip than a sign of injury.