IDENTIFIED: Body of black man pulled from pond that backs on to Obama’s Martha’s Vineyard estate

File this one under ‘weird summer story’. Barack and Michelle Obama live large. They own several properties, including an estate on Martha’s Vineyard. That sprawling $12 million estate is in the news today as the body of a black paddleboarder was recovered from a pond that backs up onto the Obama estate.

An emergency call is reported to have been made on Sunday evening from the Obama house. A 43-year-old man vanished while out with another paddleboarder on Edgartown Great Pond in Massachusetts. Emergency crews were sent to the Obama residence.

Witnesses told police that the man went underwater, briefly reappeared as he struggled to stay afloat, then went back underwater again. It was around 7:46 p.m.

It is not known if the former president or any of his family members are staying in the house.

A massive search resumed Monday morning. The black male was last seen wearing all black without a life jacket. His hat and paddleboard were recovered Sunday night but his body was not recovered until Monday morning. The body was found in eight-foot-deep waters about 100 feet away from shore.

Massachusetts State Police said: ‘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 Massachusetts Environmental Police Officers deploying side-scan sonar from a boat.

‘As previously noted, the victim is a 43-year-old male. His name is not being released at this time; we expect to release his name later today.

‘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.’

The multi-agency rescue effort included the US Coast Guard, Edgartown Fire, Air Wing, detectives, and Dukes County Sheriff’s Department.

Edgartown Great Pond is an 890 acre pond. Divers andd boats with side-scan sonar were used to find the man. Detectives were also on the scene, along with USCG helicopter crews. The body was located by sonar from a boat. A command post was set up at Wilson’s Landing, across the Cove from Obama’s residence.

The man’s identity has not been released. Was he a friend of the Obamas? A summer guest at the estate? Or was it just a strange coincidence that a dead black man’s body was recovered in a large pond that backs up to the Obama estate? The call to emergency services did come from the Obama home.

Edgartown Police Department confirmed that Wilson’s Landing was reopened midday Monday.

UPDATE: After I finished writing this post, the body was identified as Tafari Campbell, a chef and a former White House chef during the Obama administration. It is being reported he worked as a chef for the Obamas after their time in the White House.

The Obamas released a short statement.

Tafari was a beloved part o 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, un, extraordinarily kind person who made all our lives a little brighter.