Member of Kennedy family and her son identified as missing boaters in Chesapeake Bay

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Washington Post

Public Safety

Member of Kennedy family and her son identified as missing boaters in Chesapeake Bay

By Rachel Weiner, Peter Hermann and Dana Hedgpeth
April 3, 2020 at 2:05 p.m. EDT

Two boaters who went missing in the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis on Thursday evening have been identified as Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40, and her 8-year-old son Gideon Joseph Kennedy McKean.

David McKean confirmed his wife and son disappeared on Thursday afternoon while in a canoe on the Chesapeake Bay. In a brief interview with The Washington Post, he said the family had gathered at a waterfront house owned by his wife’s mother, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, in Shady Side, Md.

At about 4 p.m., children were kicking a ball back and forth in a yard and the ball went into the water.

He said his wife and son “popped into a canoe to chase it down. They just got farther out than they could handle and couldn’t get back in.”

A spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard said the wind in that part of the bay was at 26 knots — about 30 mph — Thursday afternoon, with waves two to three feet high.

McKean said he has been told the search is continuing. He would not say whether the canoe has been found, but the Maryland Department of Natural Resources police said Friday that an overturned canoe matching the description of the one went missing was recovered.

McKean is executive director of the Georgetown University Global Health Initiative and the daughter of former lieutenant governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. McKean is also a granddaughter of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and grandniece of former president John F. Kennedy.

Capt. Erik Kornmeyer, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, said in a statement that a concerned person called authorities around 4:30 p.m. Thursday to say he saw the canoe from the Columbia Beach pier.

According to the Coast Guard, the caller said that the boaters were “seen struggling to return to shore in a canoe” near Herring Bay and then not seen again.

{snip}

Rachel Weiner
Rachel Weiner tries to cover Alexandria's federal court from a small windowless room with no cellphone access. She sometimes ventures outside to write about crime in Alexandria and Arlington. Follow

Peter Hermann
Peter Hermann covers crime for The Washington Post. He previously worked for the Baltimore Sun for 22 years, covering a Baltimore suburb and then the Baltimore Police Department. Follow

Dana Hedgpeth
Dana Hedgpeth is a Washington Post reporter, working in the early morning to report on traffic, crime and other local issues. She joined The Post in 1999. Follow

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/member-of-kennedy-family-and-her-son-identified-as-missing-boaters-in-chesapeake-bay/2020/04/03/e0cfc9e2-75b4-11ea-a9bd-9f8b593300d0_story.html

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OURStockpileHat Retweeted

https://twitter.com/Popehat

BREAKING Robert F. Kennedy grand-daughter Mauve Kennedy McKean, 40, of DC, and her son, Gideon, 9 - RFK and Ethel Kennedy's eldest great-grandchild - are missing in Chesapeake Bay boating tragedy.

Link to tweet

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I've been reading about the canoers on Coast Guard websites. The USCG had not given out the names.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Coast Guard searches for two missing canoers near Annapolis, Maryland

Coast Guard searches for two missing canoers near Annapolis, Maryland

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 04/03/2020 09:19 AM EDT

News Release
U.S. Coast Guard 5th District Mid-Atlantic
Contact: 5th District Public Affairs
Office: [phone]
After Hours: [phone]
5th District online newsroom

Coast Guard searches for two missing canoers near Annapolis, Maryland

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Coast Guard is searching for two canoers last sighted ten miles south of Annapolis near Herring Bay, Maryland, Thursday evening.

The missing canoers have been identified as a 41 year-old woman and her 8 year-old son.

Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Maryland National Capitol Region command center received a report from Maryland State Police members that two individuals were seen struggling to return to shore in a canoe near Herring Bay and not seen again by the reporting individual.

An Air Station Atlantic City MH-65 Dolphin Helicopter aircrew and a Coast Guard Station Annapolis 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boatcrew were launched to assist in the search.

An Air Station Elizabeth City C-130 Hercules aircrew and a Coast Guard Station Inigoes boat crew are continuing the search Friday morning along with the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Angela McShan.

Also assisting in the search are members of the Queen Anne Police Department, Arundel Police Department, Maryland Natural Resource Police, and Maryland State Police.

Anyone with additional information regarding this case should contact the Sector Maryland command center at 410-576-2525.

-USCG-

[genxlib]

2. I don't believe in curses

But if I did, I would certainly think that family had one.

I hope they are found.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Daughter, grandson of ex-Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend missing on Chesapeake Bay

Daughter, grandson of ex-Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend missing on Chesapeake Bay

[Shipwack]

4. And if their last name didn't contain "Kennedy", no one would give a damn...

Isn't about time we stopped giving special attention to people just because they are a part of that clan?

I agree it's a tragedy for her family and local community, but not worth a long article in the Washington Post.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. I get that, but I knew it would be of interest to people here.

I debated putting this in the Maryland Group.

[marble falls]

7. Its in the right place, MKJ. It has national interest.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. Yeah, but if it had been Harriet Smith and her son, it would have made the local TV 6:00 news,

and not much more.

He does have a point. I try to avoid celebrity news. The missing woman was the daughter of the ex-Lt. Gov. of Maryland, so that contributes to the story's newsworthiness.

[marble falls]

9. What interests news consumers is news. The Smiths aren't in the hearts and minds like a Kennedy is.

I see news about the "Smiths" in National news often enough. The Kennedys are news to millions all over the country.

I don't care so much about Kennedys, but I recognize that news isn't written for me specifically, its written for all those who consume it. No interest, no news. Saying that stories about people like me aren't news is almost a non sequitur, a 'well yeah, and ....?'

Two newspaper headlines:

"Marble Falls thought drowned", "Kennedy thought drowned".
Which one sells the most copies? The Kennedys are national figures and for reasons I do not understand - I'm not.

[DEbluedude]

19. Amen.

[marble falls]

6. Well, yeah. But they are Kennedys and Kennedys are news.

[BComplex]

10. But because it's the Kennedys, Democrats do give a damn.

And we always will.

[Glorfindel]

12. I certainly always will.

Thank you, BComplex.

[McKim]

16. YES!

Yes, we need them as most are great leaders!!!!! They have done a lot of good in this world.

[dflprincess]

17. This is especially true for those of us who are IrishCatholicDemocrats

Last edited Fri Apr 3, 2020, 06:47 PM - Edit history (1)

"of a certain age". (Even if the Catholic part has lapsed).

When John, Jr. was missing a local talk radio host spent most his show on it & someone called in to complain that there were other topics. I wish I had the exact working of the host's response but, it went something like this:

"You must be young and and you have to be an Irish Catholic of a certain age to understand this. When we were young, we wanted to be the Kennedys & if we couldn't be them, we wanted to marry one, and if we couldn't marry one we wanted to be their friend. And, yes, there are times they've disappointed us, but when something like this happens, we are still their friends. And we will always be their friends."

[BComplex]

18. So true.

BTW, Paul Wellstone was another who will always be revered by democrats.

[MontanaMama]

28. +1

I do. All the money in the world won’t mend a heart broken by the death of this mother and her child. This is tragic regardless of family name.

[moonscape]

13. As a democrat, I give a damn. n/t

[pazzyanne]

14. Say what you want.

However, the Kennedys have a service rich history with this nation. That makes them newsworthy in my estimation.

[liberalhistorian]

22. And they've certainly sacrificed more

for public service to the nation, losing a president and senator to assassinations.

[pazzyanne]

23. ... most definitely that!

I remember listening to this for hours. One of the saddest days of my life.

[mzmolly]

27. Hear hear!

[Wanderlust988]

15. The Washington Post's community includes Maryland

Don't be a jerk.

[Demsrule86]

20. No, I find them interesting. Those who don't can avert their eyes and not read the posts.

[Blues Heron]

21. She was the executive director of the Georgetown University Global Health Initiative

She would have made the news anyway, Kennedy or not.

[honest.abe]

24. Actually it's a compelling tragic story for anyone.

A young mother and child drowning in canoe trying to retrieve a ball in the Chesapeake Bay. That’s not something that happens frequently... if ever. Then add to that they are persons related to famous political family. Makes it a very big story.

[csziggy]

25. In 50 years when an Obama relative dies, people will still care

There are certain leaders who make an impression that lasts for generations. John F. Kennedy did - before he became president his family had also made a huge impression on this country. The murders of two of the family that had reached powerful political positions in public set those impressions permanently in the nation's psyche.

The Roosevelts had the same legacy - without the murders. Even today the deaths of Roosevelt kin (or Cleveland, or kin of most US Presidents) makes the news.

I think the Obama family will be the same - Sasha and Malia lives will be news, as will their children, even if they do not become leaders like their father. I hope the people of this country will be interested in news of the Obama family a hundred years for now.

[mzmolly]

26. We hear about missing persons

often, regardless of last name.

I disagree. The family in question, deserves notoriety for their service to the Country.

[riversedge]

11. The Kennedy family has had so much grief over time. Peace to them.

[MontanaMama]

29. Yes.

I wish the same for them.

[gademocrat7]

30. Sad news.

The Kennedys have been beleaguered with tragedies. I will never forget what President John F. Kennedy said at his inauguration.”Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” I am grateful for their commitment to our country, especially for Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of Special Olympics. She remained active in this world wide organization until her death.

[not_the_one]

31. As far as I am concerned, America has one, and will ONLY have one, so-called Royal Family.

And it will ALWAYS be the Kennedys.

That one family has given our country so much, and paid such a price for doing so, that THEY are our standard carrier.

I was only 12 when JFK was shot. I remember it, and vaguely understood that it was a big thing. But I was growing up in the south, where many celebrated it.

Growing older I realized the gravity of the sea change of attitude that he represented, and knew that a serious wrong was done to our country when he was stopped.

Jacqueline Kennedy was, rightly so for the time, the perfect first lady. She became so much more.

My heart still breaks when I think of what might have been under JFK, Jr. I am still very suspicious about that. He was beginning to express interest in going into politics, and would have been unstoppable. Yet he was stopped.

The whole family has sacrificed so much. Being under that type of microscope 24/7 has to be a hell on earth. Yet many of the descendants still continue to give.

I eagerly await another Kennedy to work their way up, to become a new rallying cry, and a new hope. Maybe I will still be alive when that happens.