Robert F. Kennedy’s granddaughter and her son presumed dead in canoeing accident
The granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy and her 8-year-old son are presumed dead, officials said Friday, after the pair went missing Thursday when they entered the Chesapeake Bay in a canoe.
Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 41, and her son Gideon disappeared on the South River in Anne Arundel County, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan confirmed in a press conference earlier Friday. McKean is the daughter of Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland.
The U.S. Coast Guard was still searching for them Friday morning, according to a news release, but by the evening, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend said in a statement that the “search for [her] beloved daughter Maeve and grandson Gideon has turned from rescue to recovery,” E News reported.
“I reached out to and spoke with former lieutenant governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend this morning and on behalf of the people of Maryland, I expressed our most heartfelt sympathies to her and to her entire family during this difficult time,” Hogan said during his press conference.
McKean and her son Gideon were trying to retrieve a ball that landed in the water at her mom’s waterfront home in Shady Side, Maryland, when they drifted away from shore, her husband David McKean told The Washington Post.
They “appeared to be overtaken by the strong winds,” the Maryland Department of Natural Resources police said, according to People.com.
Temperatures were in the mid 50s at the time with wind speeds around 22 mph, according to data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the Chesapeake Bay.
The Anne Arundel Fire Department received a 911 call around 4:30 p.m. reporting “two people in a small canoe or kayak drifting in the bay,” according to a news release.
A water rescue team was subsequently dispatched to the area and firefighters were sent to the shore, the fire department said. Maryland State Police also notified the Coast Guard, which dispatched a helicopter and boat crew to assist in the search, the Coast Guard said.
Firefighters reported seeing “two people in a small vessel several miles from the pier drifting south in the Chesapeake Bay,” the fire department said.
Rescue personnel did not name the boaters, but the Coast Guard said the mother and son were last seen about 10 miles south of Annapolis near Herring Bay.
They found a kayak and paddle around 7 p.m., according to the fire department, but the search was called off 30 minutes later “due to darkness.”
McKean is the executive director of the Georgetown University Global Health Initiative in Washington, D.C., according to the university’s website.
She has three other children with her husband David, CBS Baltimore reported. The family issued a statement through a friend on Friday, according to the station.
“At this time, our family asks for privacy and that everyone keep Maeve and Gideon in their prayers,” they said.
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 3:22 PM.
