A week after the tragic drowning of Obama’s personal chef, Tafari Campbell, DailyMail.com has uncovered new information about the incident.
Tafari Campbell, 45, met his tragic end while paddle boarding on Great Edgartown Pond, Martha’s Vineyard, on July 23. He was reportedly not alone, but local police have yet to disclose the other person’s identity.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that dispatch calls between Martha’s Vineyard emergency services confirm the presence of a second paddle boarder with Campbell.
According to a statement from the Massachusetts State Police reported by MassLive, the unidentified paddleboarder tried to swim to Campbell but tragically, “did not reach him in time.”
After the failed rescue attempt, the individual managed to swim back to shore and alerted someone who then called 911.
A female made the initial 911 call, who, as of 8:18 pm, was actively searching for Campbell on a boat.
Oddly, the call log shows the reason for this call as BLANK – an inconsistency, considering that all other calls made that night had their reasons clearly mentioned.
Adding to the mystery, the call’s origin was marked as Wilson’s Landing, a popular paddle board launch site roughly two miles from the Obama residence on Turkeyland Cove. This information contradicts the Massachusetts State Police records, stating that the first call originated from the Obamas’ residence.
According to sources who spoke with Daily Mail, a female staff member of Barack Obama was with Campbell during the unfortunate event.
The unnamed woman, on a separate paddleboard, had attempted to reach Campbell after he fell into the water, but she had to retreat to shore to call for help.
It was a Secret Service agent who made the emergency call from the Obama estate in Edgartown, sources revealed.
Daily Mail reported:
Sources tell DailyMail.com that the witness spoke with police at the scene and described her as devastated but also apparently clear-headed and sober.
The multi-agency search continued into the night, with fire companies from across the island descending on Edgartown’s Great Pond with boats and divers, along with Massachusetts state police, the Dukes County Sheriff’s Department and Coast Guard.
The witness directed rescuers to one area where Campbell was thought to have gone under.
Crews diligently searched the location that night but did not find a body. Authorities also searched properties around the pond, in hopes Campbell had possibly made it to shore.
The following morning, Campbell’s body was found by Massachusetts Environmental Police officers using side-scan sonar. Campbell’s body was taken to Wilson’s Landing, the public launch site used as the operation’s command post. A Secret Service agent confirmed the identity of the body as Campbell at the site.
At the time of the tragic accident, Barack and Michelle Obama were not at home. The whereabouts of their daughters, Sasha, 25, and Malia, 22, remain unclear. They were reportedly on the island but not sighted at the scene during the recovery operation.
Authorities have been strict in controlling the release of information about the incident.
In response to queries about the call log, Edgartown Police Chief Bruce McNamee speculated that this might be due to the call being made on a direct line rather than dialing 911, which would automatically generate location data. The address, he added, was listed as Wilson’s Landing since that was the location of the command post, and the exact location of the incident was unclear at the time of the call.
Toxicology reports are still pending, but the incident has so far been ruled a tragic accident. No signs of foul play have been detected. Campbell, who could swim as evidenced by a video he’d previously posted, was found in eight feet deep water without a life jacket and wasn’t tethered to his board.
Despite the tragedy, life goes on for the Obama family. Sasha and Malia Obama left the island on Tuesday, while Barack and Michelle Obama resumed some of their regular activities on Friday.
Michelle was spotted playing tennis at the local Farm Neck country club, and Barack was seen playing golf at the Vineyard Golf Club with bandaged fingers.