Kennedy Family Tragedy: Authorities Suspend Search After Maeve, Gideon Kennedy Go Missing On Chesapeake Bay

The Coast Guard announced late on Friday that they would be suspending their search for Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40, and her 8-year-old son Gideon. McKean, who is the granddaughter of former attorney general Robert F. Kennedy, went missing with her son Thursday on the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, Maryland.

Authorities had been searching for the pair for 26 hours before announcing the suspension. McKean’s mother, former Lt. Governor of Maryland Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, announced in a statement that the search for her daughter and grandson had transitioned rescue to recovery, as the two are now presumed dead.

“With profound sadness, I share the news that the search for my beloved daughter Maeve and grandson Gideon has turned from rescue to recovery,” Townsend said. “My heart is crushed, yet we shall try to summon the grace of God and what strength we have to honor the hope, energy and passion that Maeve and Gideon set forth into the world. My family thanks all for the outpouring of love and prayers as we grieve and try to bear this devastating loss.”

McKean’s husband, David, explained that the two had been self-isolating at the family’s home on the Bay. They were playing kickball together when the ball was accidentally kicked onto the water. They went out in a canoe to retrieve it and were believed to have been pulled out too far by winds. The Coast Guard’s thorough search spanned 3,600 square miles and covered land, air and sea.

“This was a difficult case, and even more difficult to make the decision to suspend the search,” said Matthew Fine, deputy sector commander and active search suspension authority at Sector Maryland-National Capitol Region command center. “Our crews and partners did everything they could to find them. We've kept the family informed at every step during the search, and our thoughts are with them tonight.”

McKean worked as a human rights lawyer and served as executive director for the Georgetown University Global Health Initiative. She also advised the Obama administration’s global AIDS program.