The focus of the investigation of the cause of death for former New York Yankee’s star Brett Gardner’s son in Costa Rica switched to possible food poisoning, a judicial official Pakinomist told Wednesday.
Miller Gardner, 14, died while on vacation with his family in the Central American country on March 21. The Gardner family released a statement through Yankees on Sunday, announcing their tragic losses on Sunday.
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Yankees’ Brett Gardner goes off the field after being defeated by Tampa Bay Rays, October 2, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)
Marisel Rodriguez Solis, Press Manager for Costa Rica’s Legal Investigation Police (OIJ), Pakinomist said the study has changed to possible food poisoning as the most likely cause, but choking has not been excluded yet. The results of the forensic and pathology tests could take anywhere between one to four months to come back.
Costa Rica officials have not yet interviewed the Gardner family from Tuesday afternoon.
“With heavy hearts, we are sorry to announce the transition to our youngest son, Miller,” the Gardner family said this weekend. “He was 14 years old and has left us too soon after getting sick with several other family members while on vacation,” read their statement. “We have so many questions and so few answers at this time, but we know he died peacefully in his sleep on the morning of Friday, March 21.
“Miller was a beloved son and brother, and we are yet to understand our lives without his contagious smile. He loved football, baseball, golf, hunting, fishing, his family and his friends. He lived life to life every single day.”
New York Yankees Center Fielder Brett Gardner is met after hitting a solo home against Blue Jays at Rogers Center in Toronto, September 30, 2021. (Dan Hamilton-usa Today Sports)
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The Gardner family stayed at Arenas del Mar Hotel in Manuel Antonio and ate at an Italian restaurant at a nearby hotel on Thursday. All four family members started to get sick at. 23 local time left at the facility where they lived.
Arena del Mar Hotel called a doctor to give them medication to help with the stomach. The next morning Miller Gardner was found dead with traces of vomiting.
“Our hotel protocol at Arenas Del Mar does not allow hotel staff to provide medication or treatments to guests,” Arenas Del Mar said in a statement. “The hotel staff immediately sent a medical team, including a licensed doctor who arrived at handling the emergency. Any medical attention to the family was performed by medical professionals. Our staff did not administer any medical treatment.
“Our first priority at the moment is to respect family privacy.”
Officials have interviewed the doctor, hotel and restaurant staff and undergoing security recordings.
Solis maintained that during her nearly two decades of Oij, she couldn’t remember anyone in Costa Rica who died of food poisoning.
New York Yankees left Fielder Brett Gardner and Manager Aaron Boone Talk during a game against Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in Skt. Petersburg, Florida, September 24, 2019. (Kim Klement-usa Today Sports)
Brett Gardner played for Yankees from 2008 to 2021. He was on the team when they won a world series in 2009.
