'Beloved Part Of Our Family': Barack Obama, His Family Express Grief Over Death Of Personal Chef

A man who died due in a paddleboarding accident in a lake in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts has been identified as the chef of former US President Barack Obama.

Obamas' chef found dead in paddleboarding accident in Massachusetts.

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The man whose body was recovered from a lake in the Massachusetts resort community of Martha's Vineyard, has been identified as the personal chef to former United States President Barack Obama, authorities said, as per a report by Reuters. 45-year-old Tafari Campbell was the subject of a two-day search after a paddle boarder was seen struggling and go under the water in Edgartown Great Pond near a house owned by the Obamas on Sunday night, the report added. 

According to Reuters, Campbell worked as a sous chef at the White House and later came to work for the family after Obama completed his second term in 2016, the former President and his wife said in a statement Monday. 

"Tafari was a beloved part of our family," the Obamas said in a joint statement. "He was ... creative and passionate about food, and its ability to bring people together. 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," the statement further read, as quoted by Reuters. 

Authorities began searching for Campbell on Sunay after they received a call that a male paddle boarder had gone into the water and appears to struggle before going under, police said, quoted Reuters.