Robert F. Kennedy's Granddaughter Maeve and Her 8-Year-Old Son Gideon Dead After Drowning Accident

The search for Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean and her 8-year-old son Gideon has met a tragic end. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend confirmed in a statement on Friday that her daughter and grandson have perished in a drowning accident on the Chesapeake Bay. Kennedy Townsend, the former Lt. Gov. in Maryland, made clear that the search for her daughter had changed from a rescue mission to a recovery according to E! News.

"With profound sadness, I share the news that the search for my beloved daughter Maeve and grandson Gideon has turned from rescue to recovery," Kennedy Townsend's statement read. The pair went missing on Thursday afternoon after going on a canoe ride near Annapolis, Maryland.

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Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan also reached out to the family and spoke during a press conference, confirming the tragedy according to E! News.

"I reached out to and spoke with lieutenant Governor Townsend this morning and, on behalf of the people of Maryland, I expressed out most heartfelt sympathies and prayers to her and to her entire family during this difficult time," Hogan said.

Kennedy Townsend McKean and her son reportedly were playing a ball near the waters in Annapolis. It ended up falling into the water and floating away, leading to the mother and son heading out in a canoe to retrieve it. The canoe had been found as authorities searched the area and they determined that the pair had ended up "farther out" than expected and couldn't get back in.

"The preliminary investigation revealed that the pair may have been paddling the canoe from a residence in Shady Side, MD out into the Bay to retrieve a ball and were unable to paddle back to shore," a statement from Maryland DNR stated earlier on Friday.

The deaths are the latest to strike the famous political family. 22-year-old Saoirse Roisin Hill died in August 2019, discovered unresponsive at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Hill was also the granddaughter of Robert Kennedy and his wife Ethel, and had reportedly combated depression in the time leading up to her tragic passing.

Robert Kennedy was famously shot by Sirhan Sirhan in 1968 during his campaign for president, only a few short years after his brother John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald. Both events are still focal points for American politics and conspiracy, with many other tragedies following.