NEW MEXICO, UNITED STATES: As the Obamas mourn the loss of their personal chef, some individuals on Twitter have been quick to point out a previous tragedy involving another White House chef. In 2015, Chef Walter Scheib, who was hired by First Lady Hillary Clinton during President Bill Clinton's administration, also lost his life in a drowning incident in New Mexico.
The occurrences of both White House chefs dying by drowning have sparked bizarre and unfounded conspiracy theories, and social media has been abuzz with comparisons between the two cases. Netizens have even shared a 2015 news clipping from ABC News about Walter Scheib's passing on Twitter.
'Two White House chefs have died'
Twitter users have drawn parallels between the deaths, with some finding similarities between Tafari Campbell's death and the circumstances surrounding Walter Scheib's drowning. Though both died in different drowning tragedies and have no similarities besides being chefs who served presidents and their families at the White House, conspiracy theorists had a field day linking the two deaths. One Twitter account made a post that read, “Two White House chefs have now died from drowning. In 2015 the chef for Bill and Hillary Clinton died from drowning while hiking in New Mexico. Walter Scheibs death was confirmed an accidental drowning after he went hiking alone in the New Mexico mountains. His body was found submerged “in a mountain drainage flowing with surface runoff” about 25 yards off the Yerba Canyon hiking trail, hidden from view by vegetation and a steep decline off the trail- according to police statement at the time”.
Sourced from CNN, the post made unfounded speculation as one user agreed with them, commenting, “All I can say is that the odds of drowning after being a white house chef are getting higher.” However, another tweet shut down attempts to link the two deaths, saying, “Accidents , not everything is a conspiracy theory”.
Scheib served as White House executive chef
As per a CNN report, an autopsy conducted on Walter Scheib concluded that his death was accidental, as confirmed in a statement by the department. Scheib, who had served as a chef under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush, went missing on June 13 after embarking on a solo hike along a mountain trail in Taos, New Mexico.
Indeed, Walter Scheib held the position of White House executive chef from 1994 to 2005. He was personally appointed to this role by then-first lady Hillary Clinton, as stated on Scheib's official website. His body was discovered submerged in a mountain drainage area, which was carrying surface runoff, approximately 25 yards away from the Yerba Canyon hiking trail.
