The death of Tafari Campbell, a former White House sous chef and personal cook for Barack and Michelle Obama, was an accident, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Massachusetts.

Campbell vanished on July 23 while paddleboarding in Edgartown Great Pond on Martha’s Vineyard, triggering an intense search effort involving diving units and sonar. It ended in tragedy just hours later when the chef’s body was recovered not far from the Obamas’ Katama estate, according to Massachusetts State Police.

On Tuesday, Timothy McGuirk, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, confirmed Campbell’s cause of death was accidental drowning following “submersion in a body of water.”

The chef, who was from Dumfries, Virginia, lost his balance while standing on his board and toppled into the water, another paddleboarder told authorities, according to the Boston Herald. The witness added that they tried to save Campbell, but they were unable to reach him in time. His body was pulled from the water on July 24 around 10 a.m. He was 45 years old.

Campbell worked in the White House during Barack Obama’s eight years in office. The former first couple mourned his death in a statement released last month, calling the cook 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,” the couple said. “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.”

With News Wire Services