Kennedy family: Authorities recover body of RFK’s great-grandson after 5-day search

SHADY SIDE, Md. — The body of Gideon McKean, the 8-year-old great-grandson of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was found Wednesday, ending a five-day search after the boy and his mother disappeared in a canoe, a spokesman for Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said.

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The discovery came two days after authorities found the body of his mother, Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, just over 2 miles from where the two of them disappeared last week in Chesapeake Bay near Shady Side, Maryland.

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“A very sad update,” Mike Ricci, communications director for Hogan. said in a tweet. “Authorities have recovered the body of Gideon McKean. Please keep the family in your prayers.”

According to authorities, Gideon’s body was found about 2,000 feet from where his mother’s body was recovered. He was found in 25 feet of water, about 2.3 miles from the residence of his grandmother, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend,

Previous report: The body of Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean was found just over 2 miles from where she and her son disappeared in a canoe last week.

Her body was recovered in 25 feet of water in Shady Side, Maryland, according to Maryland Natural Resources Police.Police will continue to search for her son, Gideon Joseph Kennedy McKean.

Last week, McKean, 40, and Gideon McKean, 8, disappeared Thursday afternoon while in a canoe on Chesapeake Bay, The Washington Post reported.

The search was eventually suspended 26 hours later after they were reported missing near Annapolis, Maryland, according to the Coast Guard.

Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, McKean’s mother, announced Friday that the search had turned from a rescue to a recovery mission.

David McKean told The Washington Post the family had gathered at a house owned by his wife’s mother, who is the daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy.

Thursday afternoon children had been playing with a ball and accidentally kicked it into the water. Maeve and Gideon got into a canoe and went after the ball.

“They just got farther out than they could handle and couldn’t get back in,” David McKean told the Post.

The U.S. Coast Guard said wind gusts were up to 30 mph and there were nearly 3-foot waves on the water, the Post reported.

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