Police in the US have recovered the body of Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy's great-grandson who went missing after going canoeing.
Maeve Kennedy Townsend, 40, and her son, Gideon McKean, 8, disappeared on Friday after drifting out into Chesapeake Bay in Maryland on a boat.
Police found the body of the missing lawyer, but were unable to locate Gideon until this afternoon.
Divers located Townsend's body in about 25 feet of water, 2.5 miles (4 km) south of her moter's residence in Shady Side, Maryland, where the canoe was launched.
The Anne Arundel County Fire Department had received a call last Thursday at about 4.30pm. reporting that two people in a small canoe or kayak were drifting into Chesapeake Bay.
The overturned canoe was quickly recovered having traveled miles downstream from where they entered the water.
Rescuers were sent to the area and a search began. At around 7pm the canoe and a paddle were found, but not the missing people.
Husband David McKean had confirmed his wife and son’s disappearance to the Washington Post at the weekend.
He told the newspaper his wife and son “popped into a canoe to chase [a ball] down.
Mrs McKean and Gideon were daughter and grandson of ex-Maryland Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who in turn was the daughter RFK.
Speaking on Friday, Mrs Townsend confirmed the search had "turned from rescue to recovery".
Following the discovery of Mrs McKean's body, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman said: “News of this tragedy hit me and my family hard this morning.
“We are holding Kathleen and her family in the light, and holding our own loved ones a little closer as we reflect on their pain and their loss."
Earlier on Monday, more than 100 family members held a prayer service via Zoom, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. posted on Instagram.
Mrs McKean was a public health and human rights lawyer and served as executive director of the Georgetown University Global Health Initiative.
