Costa Rican authorities provided an update regarding the investigation into the death of Miller Gardner, the 14-year-old son of former New York Yankees player Brett Gardner.
Costa Rican Judicial Investigative Agency (OIJ) General Director Randall Zúñiga told reporters at a press conference Monday that “high levels of carbon monoxide contamination” were found in the family’s hotel room, and that might have been the cause of the teen’s death.
“It’s also important to note that next to [the family’s] room there is a specialized machine room, from which it is believed some form of contamination may have reached the guest rooms, potentially causing the incident,” Zúñiga said in Spanish, via the New York Post.
Zúñiga added that the OIJ notified both the local fire department and the Ministry of Health in order for them to “take appropriate action regarding this confirmed contamination in the room,” and that the OIJ was working in tandem with the FBI in the U.S. as they “wait for the final results from forensic toxicology.”
The Gardner family was vacationing in Costa Rica when they announced their tragic loss.
“We have so many questions and so few answers at this point, but we do know that he passed away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of Friday, March 21st,” the Gardners said in a statement, which was released by the Yankees.
Brett and his wife Jessica Gardner also said other family members fell ill on the vacation.
Early reports suggested that Miller likely died from asphyxiation in his sleep due to food poisoning, although that theory was later downplayed.
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The Gardner family stayed at the Arenas Del Mar hotel in Manuel Antonio and ate at an Italian restaurant at a nearby hotel on Thursday. All four family members began to feel sick by 11 p.m. local time back at the facility where they were staying.
The Arenas Del Mar hotel called a doctor to give them medicine to help with the stomach issues. The next morning, Miller Gardner was found dead with traces of vomit.
Officials have interviewed the doctor, hotel and restaurant employees, and are reviewing security footage.
The Gardner family shared details of the upcoming funeral and reflected on his life in the obituary, which was published in the Charleston Post and Courier earlier on Monday.
“The void Miller’s passing leaves in the hearts of his family, friends, teammates, teachers, coaches and others will be felt for years. The Gardner family will forever cherish the places they visited, the people they met, the friends they made, and the memories they created together,” the obituary read.
“Miller’s time here with them was brief but his spirit will carry on forever through those who were impacted by the way he lived.”
Brett Gardner played for the Yankees from 2008-2021, and was part of the organization’s last World Series championship in 2009. Gardner is one of the few former Yankees to have been teammates with Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, and then Aaron Judge many years later.
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