A Costa Rica resort has denied claims by investigators that former New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner's 14-year-old son, Miller, may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort has rejected the poisoning explanation made on Monday by the country’s Judicial Investigation Department (OIJ) about the death of the teenager.
“The levels in the hotel room were non-existent and non-lethal. There was an error in this initial reporting,” the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort told The New York Post.
Miller was found dead in a hotel room in Costa Rica on March 21. Investigators conducted tests in the hotel room a week after the boy died, and allege that "high emissions of carbon monoxide contamination were detected."
"Furthermore, this investigation has been closely coordinated with the FBI in the United States," Randall Zuniga, Director of the OIJ, said during a Monday press conference.
Zuniga said the boy may have died from "inhaling hazardous gases," but said that a toxicology report was still in the works.
According to the OIJ director, the room the family was staying in was adjacent to a "machine room," which investigators believe may have caused the contamination.
“We also have to wait for the final results of forensic toxicology to determine exactly what caused the death," he said. "However, the initial lines of investigation indicate that it was due to this contamination situation, where up to 600 parts per million were found, when the correct level should be zero in this particular case.”
The resort added that the high levels of carbon monoxide were detected in a “mechanical room that guests do not occupy,” not the room the teenager was staying in.
Investigators initially thought the boy may have died from asphyxiation, but found his airways were clear and not obstructed, but there had been traces of vomit.
Miller and the rest of his family became ill while on their vacation. The rest of the family appears to have recovered from their potential exposure to the gases.
The family remembered Miller in an obituary.
“The void Miller’s passing leaves in the hearts of his family, friends, teammates, teachers, coaches, and others will be felt for years,” the obituary in the Post and Courier in South Carolina read. “The Gardner family will forever cherish the places they visited, the people they met, the friends they made, and the memories they created together.”
According to ESPN, the family initially believed they'd been made sick due to food they'd eaten while vacationing in Manuel Antonio, a town on the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
Gardner and his wife Jessica announced the death of their son on March 23.
Miller was a high school football player in South Carolina and wore the number 11 on his jersey, which is the same number his father wore during the 14 seasons he played with the Yankees.
Gardner retired in 2021 and was a member of the Yankees 2009 championship team.
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