Body of Robert F Kennedy’s great-grandson Gideon, 8, is found five days after he and his mom drowned on canoe trip
THE body of Robert F Kennedy’s great-grandson Gideon, 8, has been found – five days after he and his mom drowned on a tragic canoe trip, officials say.
Maryland, Governor Larry Hogan confirmed the news after the remains of Gideon’s mother, Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40, were recovered from the Shady Side area earlier this week.
“The daughter and grandson of former Maryland Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Maeve and Gideon McKean, have now both been found,” Hogan tweeted.
“Please continue to keep their family in your prayers as they mourn this devastating loss.”
He thanked Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) “and all of the agencies and dedicated personnel who worked around the clock to support this recovery mission.”
The heartbreaking rescue operation concluded today after emergency services combed the area for days to recover the bodies of Maeve and little Gideon.
The Kennedy descendants went missing on Thursday, April 2, while they tried to retrieve a lost ball from a bay in a canoe in the Chesapeak Bay area.
The duo went out in a canoe to retrieve it, but “got farther out then they could handle, and couldn’t get back in,” McKean told The Washington Post.
Cops say the little boy’s body was found about 2,000 feet from where his mom was recovered, reports WTOP.
Maeve’s husband, David McKean, posted a moving tribute to his wife and young son 24 hours after they vanished, saying Gideon’s mom was “my everything.”
His post also mentioned the couple’s seven-year-old daughter Gabriella, who is “heartbroken” and their two-and-a-half year old son, Toby.
“She was my best friend and my soulmate,” McKean wrote. “I have already thought many times over today that I need to remember to tell Maeve about something that’s happening.
“[Gideon] was deeply compassionate, declining to sing children’s songs if they contained a hint of animals or people being treated cruelly.
“I used to marvel at him as a toddler and worry that he was too perfect to exist in this world. It seems to me now that he was.”
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David’s heart-wrenching post came after Maeve’s mother, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a former Maryland Lt. Governor, released a statement confirming it went from a “rescue to recovery” mission Friday night.
The family were reportedly quarantining amidst the coronavirus crisis at Kathleen’s house.
The tragedy is the latest to befall the prominent family – with some believing they are the victims of a ‘Kennedy curse.”
More to follow…
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