Maeve Kennedy Townsend, a Maryland mother, and granddaughter of the late American politician, Robert F. Kennedy, has been confirmed missing along with her eight-year-old son, Gideon Joseph Kennedy McKean. The mother with her son went missing after their kayak was blown away after it drifted down the Chesapeake Bay on Thursday, Apr. 3.
They were last seen in a 'small canoe or kayak' drifting in a bay at the Columbia Beach community pier at 4:30 p.m. Her husband, David McKean, confirmed they were missing on Thursday. David told the Washington Post that the family stayed at home owned by his wife's mother, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. Before they have gone, the family had an activity when the ball being played flew into the water.
The two tried to chase that ball, so they used the canoe. Unfortunately, when they got father, they could not handle the canoe and struggled to get back, David said.
The Anne Arundel County Fire Department released a statement saying that dispatch received a call at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday informing authorities that "two people in a 'small canoe or kayak' were drifting in the bay at the Columbia Beach community pier off Shady Side." So the firefighters and water rescue responded and went to the scene to rescue. Firefighters confirmed that two people were in a small vessel, which drifted several miles south from the pier in the Chesapeake Bay. Boats and helicopters were used to search for the mom and son.
The rescue search was paused at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday because of the darkness. Then, the search continues on Friday, Apr. 4. In the same release statement, the Maryland Natural Resources Police will be the one to lead the investigation.
Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean is the executive director of the Georgetown University Global Health Initiative, according to Daily Mail.
