The research approach to the cause of the death of the former star of the New York Yankees, Brett Gardner, in Costa Rica, changed to a possible food poisoning, a judicial official told Pak Gazette on Wednesday.
Miller Gardner, 14, died while on vacation with his family in the Central American country on March 21. The Gardner family issued a statement through the Yankees on Sunday announcing their tragic loss on Sunday.
CLICK HERE for more sports coverage at Foxnews.com
Brett Gardner of the Yankees leaves the field after being defeated by the Rays of the Bay of Tampa, on October 2, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, Archive)
Marisel Rodríguez Solis, press manager of the Judicial Investigation Police of Costa Rica (OIJ), told Pak Gazette that the investigation has changed to a possible food poisoning as the most likely cause, but that asphyxiation has not yet been ruled out. The results of forensic and pathology tests could take between one and four months to return.
Officials in Costa Rica have not yet interviewed the Gardner family until Tuesday afternoon.
“With heavy hearts we are sad to announce the death of our youngest son, Miller,” said the Gardner family during the weekend. “He was 14 years old and has left us too soon after getting sick along with several other family members while on vacation,” said his statement. “We have many questions and so few answers at this time, but we know that he died peacefully as he slept on Friday, March 21.
“Miller was a beloved son and brother and we still can’t understand our life without his infectious smile. He loved football, baseball, golf, hunting, fishing, his family and his friends. Life lived to the fullest every day.”
The central gardener of the Yankees in New York, Brett Gardner, is received after hitting a solitary home run against the tiles in the Rogers Center in Toronto, on September 30, 2021. (Dan Hamilton-USA Today Sports)
Dodgers established a date to visit Trump for the celebration of the World Series at the White House
The Gardner family stayed at the Arenas del Mar Hotel in Manuel Antonio and ate in an Italian restaurant at a nearby hotel on Thursday. The four family members began to feel sick at 11 pm local time in the installation where they stayed.
The Arenas del Mar Hotel called a doctor to give them medications to help with stomach problems. The next morning, Miller Gardner was found dead with vomit traces.
“Our hotel protocol in Arenas del Mar does not allow the hotel personnel to provide any medication or treatment to guests,” Arenas del Mar said in a statement. “Hotel staff sent a medical team immediately, including a licensed doctor, who arrived to handle the emergency situation. Any medical care to the family was performed by medical professionals. Our staff did not administer any medical treatment.
“Our number one priority at this time is to respect family privacy.”
The officials have interviewed the doctor’s employees, the hotel and the restaurants and are reviewing security images.
Solís argued that, during his almost two decades with OIJ, he could not remember anyone in Costa Rica dying from food poisoning.
The New York Yankees left the gardener Brett Gardner and the manager Aaron Boone Talk during a game against Tampa Bay rays in Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on September 24, 2019. (Kim Klement-USA Today Sports)
Brett Gardner played for the Yankees from 2008 to 2021. He was in the team when they won a world series in 2009.
