Members of the famous Kennedy family are again mourning one of their own.
The search for late former US Attorney General and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy‘s 40-year-old granddaughter Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean and her 8-year-old son Gideon was suspended 26 hours after they were reported missing in the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, Maryland, the Coast Guard said on Friday night.
“We love you Maeve,” tweeted Maeve’s cousin Rep. Joe Kennedy III. We love you Gideon. Our family has lost two of the brightest lights. Grateful for the prayers. Hold your loved ones tight.
Another cousin, Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington, aka Kick Kennedy, paid tribute to the mom and son on Instagram.
“Today the coast guard informed my family that it has terminated rescue operations for my dear cousin Maeve, and her sweet Gideon. Our hearts break beyond description,” she wrote. “Maeve was a sister to me growing up. I cannot imagine my childhood, or my adulthood without her. She will live in a special place in my heart forever, brightened by Gideon’s sweet smile.”
“I mourn the loss of my cousins, and am reminded of how many others have lost the ones they love the most during these very difficult times in our world,” she continued. “It is a time to pray that we may find our way through this darkness with the guide of the love at the center of God’s broken heart.”
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
She added, “Please, pray for this family today, and for every family enduring turmoil today, and remember how precious life is. Maeve and Gideon, Rest In Peace.”
Cousin and former Rhode Island congressman Patrick Kennedy tweeted, “.@AmyKennedy715 and I are heartbroken. Maeve and Gideon were beautiful souls who touched so many lives, including our own.”
Mike Pont/Getty Images for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
The family was self-quarantining at the Chesapeake Bay home of Maeve’s mother, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, in recent days. Maeve’s husband, David McKean, said she and Gideon were playing kickball and one of them kicked the ball into the water, after which they “got into a canoe, intending simply to retrieve the ball, and somehow got pushed by wind or tide into the open bay.”
The Coast Guard said in a statement to CNN it had received a report of “two individuals were seen struggling to return to shore in a canoe” near Herring Bay, 10 miles south of Annapolis, and were “not seen again.”
Maeve’s mother said in a statement on Friday evening that the search for her “beloved daughter Maeve and grandson Gideon has turned from rescue to recovery.”
Maeve’s husband wrote on Facebook, “It is clear that Maeve and Gideon have passed away. The search for their recovery will continue, and I hope that that will be successful. At this time, our family asks for privacy and that everyone keep Maeve and Gideon in their prayers.”
Maeve and Gideon are also survived by the couple’s 7-year-old daughter Gabriella and 2-year-old son Toby.
Source: Read Full Article
