The body of “Top Chef Masters” star Naomi Pomeroy was recovered Wednesday, four days after she drowned while tubing in an Oregon river with her husband and a friend.
The 49-year-old celebrity chef became trapped underwater while engaged in recreational activities on the Willamette River near Portland on Saturday evening.
Her body was discovered by a canoeist Wednesday morning and recovered by authorities. This was announced by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.
The tragic drowning happened when Pomeroy, her husband Kyle Linden Webster and a friend were on a linked tube and paddleboard when they got caught on an “exposed obstruction” that pulled the chef into the water.
She was then held below the water by a paddleboard leash, according to the sheriff’s office.
Firefighters were the first to arrive on the scene by boat, about 100 yards up the Marys River, but were unable to find Pomeroy’s body.
Her husband and a friend were rescued from shore and taken to a boat launch.
Pomeroy has made a name for himself in Portland’s food scene since opening his popular farm-to-table restaurant, Beast, in 2007. According to The Oregonian.
Pomeroy, best known for appearing on Bravo’s cooking show “Top Chef Masters,” won a prestigious James Beard Award in 2014 for the success of a restaurant that has since closed.
Before her body was discovered this week, the sheriff’s office had tried to find Pomeroy using sonar, underwater cameras and drones, but debris at the scene made it difficult.
Her body was taken to the funeral home and her family notified.
