A massive joint-agency search for a missing paddle boarder on Edgartown Great Pond near former President Barack Obama’s Martha’s Vineyard mansion concluded Monday morning when the body of the paddle boarder was recovered by Massachusetts State Police Underwater Recovery Unit divers.
The search for the paddle boarder began Sunday evening when Martha’s Vineyard police and fire agencies responded to 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.”
Another paddle boarder was with the victim at the time, shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday, and saw him go under the water.
The 890-acre pond is a popular spot for recreational activities such as swimming, boating, fishing, and paddle boarding.
The victim is a 43-year-old male who was not yet been identified by police, but they announced that his name will be released later in the day on Monday.
Massachusetts State Police said that the 911 call came from the vicinity of Turkeyland Cove, where former President Obama owns a 6,892-square-foot, seven bedroom mansion.
The Daily Mail reported Monday that the 911 call and dispatch address for the incident was Obama’s waterfront Martha’s Vineyard home address.
It is unclear whether the former president was staying at the estate at the time of the call and search operation.
A command post for the search was set up at Wilson’s Landing, which is across the cove from Obama’s mansion.
The recovery was made shortly before 10 a.m. Monday, approximately 100 feet from shore at a depth of about eight feet, after the victim’s body was located by Massachusetts Environmental Police Officers using side-scan sonar from a boat.
Numerous agencies assisted in the search, 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.
An investigation into the victim’s death is being conducted by the State Police Detective Unity for the Cape and Islands District and Edgartown Police.
