The body of Robert F Kennedy's granddaughter Maeve has been found after she and her son went missing in a canoe.

Maeve Kennedy McKean, 40, hadn't been seen since Thursday when she and her eight year-old son, Gideon, went out in the boat.

Her son is still missing.

After an extensive search, Kennedy McKean was found in water 2.5 miles from where they were last seen.

She was the daughter of Kathleen Kennedy and worked in the public health sector. She was also a human rights lawyer.

She had been staying at her mother's house in Maryland where the family were 'quarantining'.

Her husband, David McKean, wrote on Facebook on Friday: "They got into a canoe, intending simply to retrieve the ball, and somehow got pushed by wind or tide into the open bay.

"About 30 minutes later they were spotted by an onlooker from land, who saw them far out from shore, and called the police."

Her mother paid tribute to her and her grandson last week, saying: "My heart is crushed, yet we shall try to summon the grace of God and what strength we have to honour the hope, energy and passion that Maeve and Gideon set forth into the world."

Congressman Joe Kennedy, Kennedy McKlean's cousin, also paid tribute.

"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."

It is the latest in a series of tragedies that has beset the family. Robert was killed just five years after his brother President J F Kennedy was also assassinated.