Robert F. Kennedy’s Granddaughter & Her Son Presumed Dead Following Canoeing Accident
Tragedy has struck the Kennedy family again as the granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy and great niece of former President John F. Kennedy, has sadly disappeared along with her son while they were canoeing. The search for the pair was suspended after their canoe was found capsized and they have since been presumed dead.
Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40, disappeared with her young son, Gideon, on Thursday. According to the Washington Post, Maeve, her husband, and son were visiting one of her mother, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend’s empty homes in Shady Side, Maryland, on Chesapeake Bay.
Maeve’s husband, David McKean confirmed that his wife and 8-year-old has most likely died in a post on Facebook.
“It has been more than 24 hours, and the chances they have survived are impossibly small. It is clear that Maeve and Gideon have passed away.”
“We were self-quarantining in an empty house owned by Maeve’s mother Kathleen on the Chesapeake Bay, hoping to give our kids more space than we have at home in DC to run around. Gideon and Maeve were playing kickball by the small, shallow cove behind the house, and one of them kicked the ball into the water. The cove is protected, with much calmer wind and water than in the greater Chesapeake. They got into a canoe, intending simply to retrieve the ball, and somehow got pushed by wind or tide into the open bay. About 30 minutes later they were spotted by an onlooker from land, who saw them far out from shore, and called the police. After that last sighting, they were not seen again. The Coast Guard recovered their canoe, which was capsized and miles away, at approximately 6:30 [Thursday] evening,”
A search led by the coastguard is currently working to recover their bodies.