Tributes to Robert F Kennedy’s missing granddaughter and son as search suspended: We lost two bright lights

Tributes have been paid to the missing daughter and grandson of Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the eldest daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, as the rescue turned into a recovery mission.

Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40, and her eight-year-old son Gideon Joseph Kennedy McKean went out in a canoe in the Chesapeake Bay, in Maryland, on Thursday and did not return to shore.

Kathleen has now shared a statement saying: “With profound sadness, I share the news that the search for my beloved daughter Maeve and grandson Gideon has turned from rescue to recovery.”

Ms Kennedy Townsend, who served two terms as Maryland’s lieutenant governor, is the eldest daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, former attorney general of the US, who was assassinated in 1968.

On Saturday, Congressman Joe Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy's grandson, wrote on Twitter: "We love you Maeve. We love you Gideon. Our family has lost two of the brightest lights.

"Grateful for the prayers. Hold your loved ones tight."

On Friday night, Maeve's husband David McKean wrote on Facebook that, despite "heroic efforts" by local authorities, "the decision has now been made to suspend the active rescue effort".

“The search that began yesterday afternoon went on throughout the night and continued all day today,” he said.

“It is now dark again. It has been more than 24 hours, and the chances they have survived are impossibly small.”

He said that "it is clear that Maeve and Gideon have passed away," before adding that the recovery effort will continue.

The search began after the state Natural Resources Police responded to a report of two people on a canoe in the Chesapeake Bay who appeared to be overtaken by strong winds.