Flightaware/CWN
EDGARTOWN – Officials on Marthas Vineyard are searching for a possible drowning victim in the Katama neighborhood. Island fire officials have called for several dive teams along with Coast Guard and Mass State Police helicopters to the scene. Reports say a man around 40-years-old is missing. The dispatched address is 79 Turkeyland Cove Road. That address is the estate recently purchased by former President Barack Obama from Boston Celtics owner Wycliffe Grousbeck. A command post has been set up at Wilson’s Landing.
Edgartown Police report that they are assisting multiple agencies searching for a missing adult male paddle boarder in Edgartown Great Pond. They are asking people to remain away from this area and allow emergency responders to perform their search.
Mass State Police (MSP) report that a joint-agency search is currently underway on Edgartown Great Pond on Martha’s Vineyard for a missing paddle boarder. The search is a rescue operation at this time.
At 7:46 PM, Martha’s Vineyard police and fire agencies responded to Great Pond in the vicinity of Turkeyland Cove for a call for a male paddle boarder who had gone into the water, appeared to briefly struggle to stay on the surface, and then submerged and did not resurface.
The paddle boarder is a 43-year-old male. Another paddle boarder was on the pond with him at the time and observed him go under the water.
Numerous agencies are assisting in the search operation, including Edgartown Fire and all other island fire departments; local police; State Police patrols, Air Wing, and detectives, the Dukes County Sheriff’s Department, and the Coast Guard. Local fire department divers and marine assets are currently in the pond.
Monday morning Mass State Police updated that after several hours of searching Sunday night, efforts to locate the missing paddle boarder were unsuccessful and the operation was paused to allow dive teams, flight crews, and other responders to re-equip and assess next steps. Search assets are currently resuming operations at this time.
The search will again include marine assets, such as divers and boat crews deploying side-scan sonar, and aerial support from MSP and USCG helicopter crews.
Members of the MSP Underwater Recovery Unit and the Massachusetts Environmental Police are joining the agencies and units listed last night in today’s search operation.
Update from MSP at 1 PM: Shortly before 10 AM the body of the missing paddle boarder was recovered from Edgartown Great Pond by Massachusetts State Police divers. MSP Underwater Recovery Unit divers made the recovery after the victim’s body was located by a Massachusetts Environmental Police Officers deploying side-scan sonar from a boat.
As previously noted, the victim is a 45-year-old male.
The recovery was made approximately 100 feet from shore at a depth of about eight feet.
The investigation into the fatality is being conducted by the State Police Detective Unit for the Cape and Islands District and Edgartown Police.
Further update from MSP: The victim has been identified as Tafari Campbell, 45, of Dumfries, Virginia. Mr. Campbell was employed by former President Obama and was visiting Martha’s Vineyard at the time of his passing. President and Mrs. Obama were not present at the residence at the time of the accident.
Obama White House/CWN
Later Monday, the Obama’s released the following statement: “Tafari was a beloved part of our family. When we first met him, he was a talented sous chef at the White House — 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. That’s why, when we were getting ready to leave the White House, we asked Tafari to stay with us, and he generously agreed. He’s been part of our lives ever since, and our hearts are broken that he’s gone. 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.”
