Kennedy Granddaughter & Her Son, 8, Confirmed Dead After Tragic Canoe Accident

Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40, and her 8-year-old son Gideon drowned after a boating accident. The mother and son were in quarantine at the family’s Maryland estate.

Robert F. Kennedy‘s granddaughter Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40, and her 8-year-old son Gideon were have died. The mother and son drowned after they were reported missing following a canoeing accident in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia on April 2, according to the New York Post. Maeve and Gideon’s bodies were discovered after an intensive search that began later Thursday night, April 2, about 24 hours after they went missing according to authorities.

Maeve’s husband David McKean confirmed his wife and son disappeared on Thursday in a brief interview with the Washington Post. According to David, children were kicking a ball back and forth when the ball went into the water. That’s when he said his wife and son “popped into a canoe to chase it down. They just got farther out than they could handle and couldn’t get back in.” Maeve and Gideon were sucked into the South River, where they tragically drowned, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said. While Maeve’s husband declined to confirm if the canoe was discovered, it was confirmed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources police that one matching the description was found.

In addition to David’s statement, Governor Larry Hogan confirmed the disappearance of Maeve and Gideon in a press conference on Friday, April 2. The Kennedy family issued a statement through a spokesman Alan Fleischmann. “At this time, our family asks for privacy and that everyone keep Maeve and Gideon in their prayers,” the statement said.

Maeve and Gideon are the daughter and grandson of former Maryland Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsen., who served as lieutenant gov. of Maryland from 1995 to 2003. Townsend is the eldest daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 while running for president, and the niece of President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated three years earlier in Dallas. Maeve was the executive director of the Georgetown University Global Health Initiative. Gideon was her only child.

Our thoughts are with all of those impacted by the tragic deaths of Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean and her son Gideon. This story is still developing. 

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