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The body of former 'Top Chef' star and world-renowned chef Naomi Pomeroy was recovered on Wednesday (July 17) following a four-day search on an Oregon river, the Benton County Sheriff's Office announced in an update shared on its Facebook account.
Pomeroy, 49, was tubing with her husband, Kyle Linden Webster, and another individual on the Willamette River when the vessel was caught on an "exposed snag in the water," according to the department. The chef was then pulled under the water and trapped by a paddle board leash attached to her, police confirmed.
The group was reported to have tied their inner tubes and paddle board together prior to the fatal incident occurring. Webster and the other individual from their group were rescued on the shoreline.
Pomeroy gained notoriety in the Portland culinary scene after opening her farm-to-table restaurant, Beast, in 2007, which won her the James Beard Award, given to the Best Chef in the Northwest, in 2014, according to the Oregonian. Beast was closed in May 2020, but rebranded as Ripe Cooperative shortly after, though that too faced a forced closure in October 2022.
Pomeroy is best known for appearing on the Bravo cooking show 'Top Chef Masters' in 2011, finishing fourth in the competition and winning $26,800, as well as later appearances on 'Top Chef' as a guest judge and guest diner. The chef recently co-owned the Portland cocktail bar Expatriate with her husband and was set to open a new bistro restaurant in the Northwest city, according to the Oregonian.