Police leave log reporting Obama’s private chef’s drowning blank
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Massachausetts authorities left the reason for the 911 call reporting the drowning of former U.S. president Barack Obama’s private chef blank in official logs, according to a report.
Obama’s chef, Tafari Campbell, was found dead Monday after paddleboarding on Martha’s Vineyard.
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The 45-year-old fell into the water Sunday night while paddleboarding on Great Edgartown Pond.
There was another paddleboarder with him, though police refused to identify the individual.
According to Edgartown Police Department’s logs obtained by the DailyMail.com, a 911 call at 7:46 p.m. reported that the chef had fallen into the water but a reason behind the call was left blank, unlike other calls that night.
The location of the call was listed as Wilson’s Landing, which is a paddleboard launch site about three kilometres from the Obamas’ house on Turkeyland Cove, where Massachusetts State Police say the first call came from.
Edgartown police chief Bruce McNamee told DailyMail.com that the call log is generated by the county’s sheriff’s office.
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McNamee told DailyMail.com he could only speculate as to why the call is left blank, saying it may be because the caller from Obama’s property didn’t dial 911, which automatically generates location data, and instead made a direct call to a business line.
He said the address of the call was listed as Wilson’s Landing because the site was used as the command post as authorities didn’t know where the drowning had occurred at the time.
Dispatch calls between the emergency services on Martha’s Vineyard noted there was a second paddleboarder with him.
The original 911 call to report what had happened came from a female who was on a boat in the water going “back and forth,” presumably to look for him, the DailyMail.com reported.
It’s unclear if the woman was the same person who was paddleboarding with him.
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The Obamas were not present at the home at the time of the accident.
Campbell’s body was recovered Monday morning about 100 feet from shore in around eight feet of water.
Massachusetts authorities said on Wednesday that Campbell didn’t suffer any head trauma, nor was he wearing a life vest, and there’s no evidence the death was suspicious.
They said he lost his balance while standing on his paddleboard and struggled to stay afloat when he fell into the water.
The Obamas issued a statement that Campbell was a “beloved part of our family.”
The former president and his wife said the chef is survived by his wife and their twin boys.
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