Barack Obama's Personal Chef Tafari Campbell Dead After Paddle Boarding Accident Near Martha's Vineyard Estate

"Tafari was a beloved part of our family. Our hearts are broken that he's gone," the former president and former first lady Michelle said in a statement sent to PEOPLE

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama are mourning the loss of a "beloved" member of their staff, calling him "a truly wonderful man."

Tafari Campbell — a former White House sous chef who later became the Obamas' personal chef — died on Monday in a paddle boarding accident near the Obamas' Katama estate in Martha's Vineyard. He was 45.

Massachusetts State Police, who confirmed Campbell's death to PEOPLE, said in a news release that Campbell, who was from Dumfries, Virginia, was recovered by divers from a pond on Edgartown Great Road shortly before 10 a.m. ET.

"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," the department said in the release, noting the recovery was made "approximately 100 feet from shore at a depth of about eight feet."

MSP later told PEOPLE in a statement, "Mr. Campbell 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."

The search started at 7:46 p.m. ET on Sunday when Martha’s Vineyard police and fire agencies responded to a 911 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 Obamas shared a touching tribute to Campbell following his death, calling Tafari "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 a joint statement sent to PEOPLE. "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."

The statement continued, "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," they added.

Related: Barack Obama Addresses Hard Times in Marriage with Michelle: 'It Sure Helps to Be Out of the White House'

Campbell is one of the chefs who brewed White House honey ale beer, using honey from Michelle's South Lawn garden, while Obama was in office. In 2012, the White House released a video of Campbell and then-assistant chef Sam Kass demonstrating the beer-making process, per The Washington Post.

The ongoing investigation into Campbell's death is being conducted by the State Police Detective Unit for the Cape and Islands District and Edgartown Police.

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