Naomi Pomeroy, seen in this undated photo outside of her award-winning restaurant, Beast, in Northeast Portland’s Concordia neighborhood. Beast closed during the pandemic, but Pomeroy’s work there netted her a James Beard award in 2014. Pomeroy drowned Saturday night in a river accident July 13, 2024.
Courtesy of Dina Avila
The body of acclaimed Portland chef Naomi Pomeroy was recovered Wednesday morning from the Willamette River near Hyak Park outside Corvallis.
People canoeing on the river between Corvallis and Albany spotted her body around 10 a.m. Wednesday and called 911. According to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, marine deputies located Pomeroy on a shallow section of bedrock near the middle of the river with about 1 to 2 feet of water.
She had been missing since Saturday after a tubing accident pulled her underwater, causing her to drown.
Pomeroy was one of the most celebrated chefs in Portland for more than a decade. Her restaurant, Beast, was one of the food establishments that contributed to the city’s rising stature as a culinary center in the 2000s. In 2014, she was recognized as the James Beard Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest.
The renowned chef, who was not wearing a life vest, was on the river upstream from Mary’s River with two other adults when they hit an exposed snag in the river. Her body was held under water by a paddle board leash she was tied to, and she was unable to free herself.
BCSO deputies say they released Pomeroy’s body to a funeral home and have notified her family of her recovery. She was 49 years old.