Canoers find body of renowned chef who vanished tubing with husband, Oregon cops say

Canoers discovered the body of an acclaimed chef days after she drowned in an Oregon river and vanished underwater, deputies said.

Naomi Pomeroy, a James Beard Award-winning chef and “Top Chef Masters” star, was found dead at about 10 a.m. July 17 between Corvallis and Albany, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

The 49-year-old’s body was spotted in a shallow section of the Willamette River, about a half-mile from Hyak Park, deputies said.

What happened to Pomeroy?

Pomeroy was pulled under the water after 8 p.m. Saturday, July 13, while floating down the river on tubes with her husband and another person, McClatchy News reported.

She had her paddleboard leashed to her ankle, deputies said. The leash snagged in the water, pulled her under and she was “held by the paddleboard leash.”

Her husband and the other floater were found on the shoreline, deputies said.

Rescuers rushed to find Pomeroy in the water by boat but couldn’t find her, deputies said. Sonar, underwater cameras and drones were also used to search for her, deputies said.

Who was Naomi Pomeroy?

The talented chef opened multiple restaurants over the years, authored a cookbook, played as a contestant on “Top Chef Masters” and was a guest judge for “ Top Chef ” many times. She also advocated for legislation that supported restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She won a James Beard Award for Best Chefs in 2014, was a semifinalist in 2009, and was nominated for the award in 2010, 2012 and 2013.

At that time, she was running the Beast , a small fine-dining restaurant that she opened in 2007 in Portland, The Oregonian reported. It closed in 2020 during the pandemic.

Pomeroy then turned the space into something new and opened the Ripe Cooperative, a marketplace and cafe. The business shuttered two years later because of high costs, according to the Robb Report.

But she always had another idea for a new establishment.

Pomeroy and Mika Paredes started an ice cream business called Cornet Custard . It opened in June, according to an Instagram post.

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