Costa Rican officials said Monday night that the 14-year-old son of former New York Yankees player Brett Gardner may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Miller Gardner suddenly died in his sleep on March 21 while the family was on vacation in Costa Rica, the former MLB outfielder and his wife said in a statement released through the Yankees.
Speaking at a press conference Monday, Costa Rican Judicial Investigative Agency (OIJ) General Director Randall Zúñiga said high levels of carbon monoxide contamination were detected in the hotel room where the family was staying earlier this month.
"This leads us to an investigative line in which it seems that this person could have died from inhaling these dangerous gases," Zúñiga said.
Zúñiga added that there was a "specialized machine room" next to the room where Gardner was staying that he said is "believed to have some type of contamination" that led to the high levels of carbon monoxide.
Officials originally said that the teenager died of asphyxiation after possibly getting sick from eating something, before reversing that conclusion a day later.
Zúñiga said the results of a toxicology report are still pending and will ultimately determine the cause of death. Autopsy results will take two to three months, according to Costa Rican officials.
The investigation is being closely coordinated with the FBI, Zúñiga added.
The family was staying at Manuel Antonio, a popular resort area on the country’s Pacific Coast, an official with Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency told NBC News. In a statement Tuesday, the hotel said that it was "heartbroken" by Miller's death and that the room in question has been blocked off "out of an abundance of caution."
“Miller was a beloved son and brother and we cannot yet comprehend our life without his infectious smile,” his parents said in a statement last week.
Gardner spent his 14-season MLB career with the Yankees. He was part of the Yankees’ 2009 World Series championship team, which beat the Philadelphia Phillies.
