The award-winning chef died in the tragic tubing accident in Oregon on July 13.
Naomi Pomeroy, an award-winning chef who helped put Portland on the map as a culinary destination and starred on Top Chef Masters, has drowned in an inner tubing accident, authorities said. She was 49 years old.
On July 15, Pomeroy’s family confirmed that the chef is feared to have drowned while tubing on the Willamette River on July 13, according to Portland Monthly.
In a statement shared Tuesday by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, it was reported that Pomeroy drowned Saturday evening in the river near Corvallis after the group she was tubing with got caught on an exposed snag in the water. Captain Chris Duffitt added that she was pulled underwater and trapped by a paddleboard leash attached to her. The group had tied their inner tubes and paddleboard together.
Authorities said they safely recovered the other two people on the shore and transported them to a boat launch.
