Top Chef Masters Star Naomi Pomeroy Dies at 49 After Drowning in Inner Tube Accident

Naomi Pomeroy, a trailblazing Portland chef and owner of Beast, Expatriate and Cornet Custard

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. She is survived by her husband Kyle Webster and daughter August, 23.

On July 14, Benton County Patrol Lieutenant Toby Bottorff told local outlet Kezi that a woman, whose body had not been recovered yet, went under water and did not come back up while inner-tubing on Willamette River. According to the authorities, she was not wearing a life jacket, the outlet reported. Her husband and one other tuber survived, per the report.

PEOPLE reached out to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office but did not immediately hear back.

Born in Corvallis, Oregon, Pomeroy, opened her first culinary venture at age 24 with Ripe Catering in 1999. Shortly afterward, she launched an underground supper club called Family Supper before “going legit” and opening Gotham Coffee Shop in 2002, Clarklewis in 2004 and Gotham Tavern in 2005,