World-renowned chef and “Top Chef Masters” star Naomi Pomeroy died after she became trapped underwater while tubing with her husband and a friend on an Oregon river. Pomeroy, 49, was tubing with her husband, Kyle Linden Webster, and another on the Willamette River near Corvallis, Ore., when the group got caught on an “exposed snag in the water,” the Benton County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a statement Tuesday.
The beloved chef was then pulled under the water and became trapped by a paddle board leash attached to her, causing her to drown, officials said. The trio had reportedly tied their inner tubes and paddle board together before the incident. The Corvallis Fire Department has yet to recover Pomeroy’s body while Webster and the third individual were rescued on the shoreline — around 60 miles outside Portland.
“I am dedicated to locating Naomi to bring her home to her family and loved ones,” Sheriff Van Arsdall said. Rescue personnel have combed parts of the 187-mile river using sonar, underwater cameras, and drones, but heavy debris has made the search a struggle, officials said. Pomeroy became a figurehead in the Portland culinary scene after opening the beloved farm-to-table restaurant Beast in 2007, according to The Oregonian .
Pomeroy won the coveted James Beard Award , given to the Best Chef in the Northwest, in 2014 following the success of her hit restaurant. The self-taught chef closed Beast in May 2020 but rebranded the location as Ripe Cooperativ.
