Authorities have found the body of Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean. The discovery occurred on Monday afternoon, five days after the canoe she and her son were in apparently capsized. Divers found her body after days of relentless searching. Police say the body was discovered about two and a half miles from her family’s home in Shady Side, Maryland. The two had been missing since Thursday.
Maeve, 40, was the daughter of former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy. She went missing along with her 8-year-old son, Gideon. They were out in the waters near their home, which is about 25 miles from Annapolis, Maryland.
A early investigation found that she and her young son may have been paddling the canoe out into the bay to retrieve a ball and were unable to get back to shore. Authorities used aviation and underwater imaging sonar technology to find her body. They will reportedly resume their search for Gideon on Tuesday.
Maeve’s husband, David, wrote a lengthy Facebook post Friday in tribute to his wife and son. He lovingly called his wife “the brightest light” he had ever known. “She was magical — with endless energy that she would put toward inventing games for our children, taking on another project at work or in our community, and spending time with our friends,” he wrote.
For more on the tragic occurrence and the ongoing investigation, watch the video.
