Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The way everything went wrong here is tragic. It's so hard to believe.

For every case like this where "everything went wrong", there are a thousand near misses. Near misses by this family and by others, where literally just one thing saved someone's life. Most of the time when it's a boating related tragedy, that thing is a life jacket - if they were wearing vests, they would have had a really good chance of still being alive today. And it wouldn't make the news and you wouldn't even know about it.

Agree.

Anonymous wrote:The way everything went wrong here is tragic. It's so hard to believe.

For every case like this where "everything went wrong", there are a thousand near misses. Near misses by this family and by others, where literally just one thing saved someone's life. Most of the time when it's a boating related tragedy, that thing is a life jacket - if they were wearing vests, they would have had a really good chance of still being alive today. And it wouldn't make the news and you wouldn't even know about it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So amazing that this Kennedy family chose Watkins for their child, and that Maeve McKean had a leadership role among Hill Cluster school parents.

i am so impressed.

I read a quote attributed to her that said there wasn’t much money by the 4th generation. Lets face it, she was a Townsend. Her son was a McKean.

They look like a nice, young family and it is so sad to think of their tragic death. Especially little Gideon’s. Rest in peace

We all belong just as much to the maternal sides of our families as the paternal. We have the same percentage of DNA from all our grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. as we do from the line whose last name we happen to use.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So amazing that this Kennedy family chose Watkins for their child, and that Maeve McKean had a leadership role among Hill Cluster school parents.

i am so impressed.

I read a quote attributed to her that said there wasn’t much money by the 4th generation. Lets face it, she was a Townsend. Her son was a McKean.

They look like a nice, young family and it is so sad to think of their tragic death. Especially little Gideon’s. Rest in peace

But there are so many other options for families like that...Chesterbrook, Rosemary Hills, Bethesda Elementary, Arlington et al.

I’m impressed that they chose to invest in the community, and that she assumed a leadership role.

Like many of us who give DCPS a chance, they probably would have moved or gone private by MS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So amazing that this Kennedy family chose Watkins for their child, and that Maeve McKean had a leadership role among Hill Cluster school parents.

i am so impressed.

I read a quote attributed to her that said there wasn’t much money by the 4th generation. Lets face it, she was a Townsend. Her son was a McKean.

They look like a nice, young family and it is so sad to think of their tragic death. Especially little Gideon’s. Rest in peace

But there are so many other options for families like that...Chesterbrook, Rosemary Hills, Bethesda Elementary, Arlington et al.

I’m impressed that they chose to invest in the community, and that she assumed a leadership role.

Anonymous wrote:So amazing that this Kennedy family chose Watkins for their child, and that Maeve McKean had a leadership role among Hill Cluster school parents.

i am so impressed.

I read a quote attributed to her that said there wasn’t much money by the 4th generation. Lets face it, she was a Townsend. Her son was a McKean.

They look like a nice, young family and it is so sad to think of their tragic death. Especially little Gideon’s. Rest in peace

So amazing that this Kennedy family chose Watkins for their child, and that Maeve McKean had a leadership role among Hill Cluster school parents.

i am so impressed.

Gideon went to Watkins Elementary on Capitol Hill. I know eight-year-old classmates of his in shock and grief.

The way everything went wrong here is tragic. It's so hard to believe.

I am absolutely heartsick over this story. To me, it sounds like the family lived in a small DC home with no yard, went to their family home on the water for a getaway. They kicked a ball into the water.

The mom was having fun being with the child, and having a nice break from work. Being that covid is going around, they didn't want to lose the ball.

They thought it would be fun to hop into a canoe on the property and chase the ball, and got sucked out into the bay. Where else would one find a soccer ball during covid when nothing is being delivered timely right now, everything is closed? They were having fun, being playful.

No one was on the water. The governor had just called for stay at home orders. They must have been in distress, and no one was around to help them.

The mother or son saw one another drown and struggle, lose each other. They fought and struggled in the hard winds and whipping waves.

Look at the eyes of the members of this family when you see pictures of them online. They are good, happy people. This mother loved her family. The father is used to being in the spotlight in the Kennedy family, and an attorney (hence, his ability to be able to address the thousands of messages pouring in). They all sparkled before this. It was an awful tragedy. Please stop the INSANE rumors that there could have been any foul play.

God bless this entire family, especially Maeve and Gideon who suffered an untimely, tragic death.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they wore PFD's they'd be alive, probably. They wouldn't have gotten hypothermic before they could be found

I lived in the same community that this occurred (Cedarhurst on The Bay), and I can tell you this with absolute certainty- if they would’ve simply gotten OUT of the canoe within the first 10 minutes of struggling and realizing they couldn’t fight the wind, AND THEN STOOD UP, they’d still be alive. They could’ve walked back to shore.

There is a giant sandbar immediately offshore of where they went into the water. It extends out for about 1/3 of a mile offshore before the water starts to get deep. All the local boaters know about this sandbar, but for some reason the Kennedys didn’t.

But they literally could’ve jumped out of the canoe and been in water no deeper than their waist.

I had this happen to me. Dumped out on a sandbar. But I think if I had my child with me I might have panicked. It was a deeply frightening experience in the summer within sight of the house. In freezing water with heavy wind it’s hard to think.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they wore PFD's they'd be alive, probably. They wouldn't have gotten hypothermic before they could be found

I lived in the same community that this occurred (Cedarhurst on The Bay), and I can tell you this with absolute certainty- if they would’ve simply gotten OUT of the canoe within the first 10 minutes of struggling and realizing they couldn’t fight the wind, AND THEN STOOD UP, they’d still be alive. They could’ve walked back to shore.

There is a giant sandbar immediately offshore of where they went into the water. It extends out for about 1/3 of a mile offshore before the water starts to get deep. All the local boaters know about this sandbar, but for some reason the Kennedys didn’t.

But they literally could’ve jumped out of the canoe and been in water no deeper than their waist.

What about the water temperature? My husbands parents have a house with a boat slip in Annapolis and they never take those boats out till Memorial Day. Do you agree it was risky to be on the water this time of year?

Anonymous wrote:https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a32053810/kennedy-family-grieving-maeve-gideon-zoom-online/


Instagram postings by Kennedy family.

What a lovely family they were. My heart goes out to the husband and little girl.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they wore PFD's they'd be alive, probably. They wouldn't have gotten hypothermic before they could be found

I lived in the same community that this occurred (Cedarhurst on The Bay), and I can tell you this with absolute certainty- if they would’ve simply gotten OUT of the canoe within the first 10 minutes of struggling and realizing they couldn’t fight the wind, AND THEN STOOD UP, they’d still be alive. They could’ve walked back to shore.

There is a giant sandbar immediately offshore of where they went into the water. It extends out for about 1/3 of a mile offshore before the water starts to get deep. All the local boaters know about this sandbar, but for some reason the Kennedys didn’t.

But they literally could’ve jumped out of the canoe and been in water no deeper than their waist.

Was it/is it common for homeowners in that area to have canoes so easily accessible year-round? Please excuse my ignorance. Would this home have had a small pier for tying the canoe, and would boat have been tied to pier at this time of year? Or would canoe have to have been grounded and she would have pushed it into the water? If boat was tied to pier and not whipping around with waves (as concave beach was protected from winds further out on river/bay), I could see the Mom not fully aware of wind dangers further out.

I hope they can use the same technique to find her son given his smaller size.