‘Ms. TayIor,’ 26, is identified as the staffer who was paddle boarding with Barack Obama’s chef Tafari Campbell in unsealed Secret Service records, that also describe the chaotic scene as agents scrambled to save him

Newly released Secret Service tapes show the chaotic early moments as agents tried to rescue Barack Obama’s personal chef on Martha’s Vineyard, struggling to launch a motorboat into murky waters with just 15 minutes of daylight.

Agents tried but failed to get two motorized boats on the property, at least one owned by the Secret Service, to work before they successfully launched a third boat, owned by the groundskeeper.

But it was already too late. Tafari Campbell, 45, never resurfaced on the night of July 23, and his body was pulled from Edgartown’s Great Pond the next day.

Judicial Watch, a conservative activist group, successfully sued the Department of Homeland Security to obtain incident reports written by agents and related materials.

The 33 pages are heavily redacted and largely reflect testimony already provided by state and local police that Campbell drowned while paddling.

But some new information was revealed, including the last name of the woman who was kayaking with Campbell when he drowned: Taylor.

DailyMail.com previously identified her as a 26-year-old Obama staffer. The reports also provide some details about the rescue and the tragic aftermath.

One agent, John Crankilton Jr., recalled Campbell and another employee leaving the President’s residence on their way to the water.

“They grabbed two surfboards and headed to the water on Edgartown’s Great Pond,” one agent wrote the next day.

“About 20-30 minutes later, while in (redacted), I saw (redacted) running towards me from the northwest and frantically waving at me. I ran out of the booth and met her halfway across the front lawn. She collapsed to the ground and declared that Tafari had drowned.

“She stated that he fell into the water and struggled for several seconds before giving up and sinking underwater,” the incident report states. “She pushed one of the surfboards towards him, but he couldn’t grab it.”

He said Taylor, a relatively new employee, had to swim 50 to 75 yards to shore and then run through some “rough brush” without shoes to get to the agent, and that “she stated she didn’t even know whose property she was running on.

The agent said in his report that he notified the command post that someone should call 911 and that he also asked the woman to show him where the incident occurred.

“She said it was too late, that he had drowned, but she would help,” Crunkilton wrote.

He said two fellow agents “went by car to the boat” and one “tried to start one of the boats but was unable to get the engine down.

“I headed down with (redacted) but told her to keep going down and yelled to SA (redacted) and SSA (redacted) that I would run for the keys to our USSS boat,” he continued. “I rushed to the (command post), grabbed the keys and rushed back to the boats. A similar problem occurred with the motor on the second boat. We jumped into a third boat, owned by the groundskeeper, and it worked without a problem.”

He sat up front with Taylor, another paddle boarder, as she led them to the flooding site, about a quarter mile away.

She explained that Campbell did not have a life jacket and was wearing black shorts and a black shirt and bare shoes.

“The search began at about 7:45 p.m. and the sun set just after 8 p.m., so we didn’t have much time,” Crankilton said.

They quickly found his hat and then his drifting oar. They then discovered a surfboard washed up on the shore.

He said he removed his firearm, jumped into the water where he is believed to have fallen, and searched for 10 to 20 minutes. They continued their search in the dark, with flashlights.

They were then called to the incident command post, Wilson’s Landing, where President Obama gathered with the local fire department, state police and other local agencies.

“(Redacted) and I went out to (the incident command post) and she briefed (Obama) who asked questions,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, agents were told that Campbell was wearing an Apple Watch, so they hoped they could find him by pinging the watch. They looked for his phone in the house.

By this time, agents were ordered to keep their distance from the drowning as four divers searched for him. The search was called off around 11:30 p.m.

Crunkilton returned to the search at approximately 8:30 the next morning.

“The water was extremely murky as I swam, making it almost impossible to see my hands a few feet in front of me,” he wrote.

A rescue boat with sonar then located the body.

“They dropped two buoys and asked us to look between them,” he recalls. “When I was snorkelling, I dove down to see if I could find the body. I kept my arms outstretched because I thought I wouldn’t be able to see the body, but I might bump into it.”

A few minutes later, the sonar released another buoy, from where other divers recovered the body.

The Secret Service kept each other informed of developments via internal communications.

“Please keep Tafari in your prayers and I will update the team as soon as we have any new information,” the deputy director wrote as the search continued that first night.

In another message the next day, July 24, Special Agent in Charge (SAIC) Ben Murray noted that the drowning had begun to receive press coverage, but authorities were still trying to contact Campbell’s wife in Virginia and had chartered a plane. to take her to Martha’s Vineyard.

The next day, a member of Obama’s Defense Team discussed the grim news with colleagues.

“By now we should all be familiar with the untimely death of Tafari Campbell, personal chef of (redacted),” wrote Ben Murray. “Tafari has been part of the team for several years now and I’m sure many of you have had the opportunity to ‘taste his work’.

“Tafari’s passing brings great sadness to our team, and while we were not the nightly recipients of his culinary prowess, we will certainly miss his infectious enthusiasm, dedication and invaluable contributions to the mission of GREAT FOOD!”

He said there will be a grief counselor on the island offering his services 24 hours a day.

Murray also noted that he is organizing a special “all the buffalo wings you can eat tonight” promotion for agents so they can pay condolences at a local restaurant.

“As sad as this time is, let it also serve as a reminder to cherish our relationships, both on and off the job,” he continued.

“Together we will honor Tafari and find strength in unity.”

Officially, Campbell’s death was ruled an accidental drowning, but authorities have not yet determined how the apparently capable swimmer, who was surfing near the ex-president’s summer home, could have drowned in shallow water.

In October, DailyMail.com obtained audio recordings of dramatic 911 calls from the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office in which an agent said there were already swimmers in the water trying to find a fallen “house guest.”